That. If you could sort of give us an update on where this case against you currently stands. Well, you probably know as much as i know. Let me just say this. I think earlier this last year i was on your program, and i said i had two goals. One was to provide my investors with the performance they want and deserve. And second, to prove definitively in a court of law these charges are totally without merit. And these frankly continue to be my goals. So for 2016, i think we delivered okay performance. I always i dont like to grade my own performance. I think thats up to my investors. But our credit fund was up a robust 16 for the year. Our equityonly fund up 10 for the year and diversified strategies up 8 . So an acceptable kind of year. Ive learned a lot about the process that im going through in the past year. And and i want to make it clear, i have great confidence in the judicial system. Im anxious, very anxious to get into a courtroom for a judge to understand the facts. Having said that, frankly, i was truly surprised at the destructive power the s. E. C. Has. They have done substantial damage to my business, and i think in the end for no reason. Two years ago, lawyers have looked very, very carefully in great detail at our trading and say they know inside trading is no inside trading here. I know the facts of this case like i know the back of my hand and there is nothing wrong that has been done. In the meantime, its going to cost probably 100 million to deal with this. And when its all over, you know, im not going to get anything other than satisfaction. Because the u. K. Is losing party pays, not in the united states. I pay my own expenses. Number two, the government has sovereign immunity, so i cant sue the government for wrongful litigation. And the taxpayers pay the bill of the u. S. Government the cost. So its a difficult situation. Again, i want to emphasize, i have great confidence in the judicial system. This will be heard by a judge, possibly a jury, and im completely confident that in the end were going to win. But its up to the judge and jury to determine the outcome. And im here ready to cooperate and present a case. I did say parenthetically, i found a very interesting process. I have in my fund and im not complaining. Im very philosophical. Im a big boy. Im not a cry baby. In my fund, i have a half dozen icons of american business. People that didnt make America Great again. Made America Great to begin with. People that ran fortune 25 companies, either founded them or built them or ran them. And every one of them every one of them to a person said we know who you are. We have great confidence in you. We know what the system is all about. Youre doing the right thing for yourself and for your investors. Hang in. And defend yourself. And not one with drew from the fund. On the other hand, you are dealing with a bunch of institutions that use fiduciaries and they clearly dont believe in the american system of jurisprudence that youre innocent until proven guilty. I had a tremendous number of withdrawals, people that didnt even pick up the phone to call our lawyers who said repeatedly to us, there is no inside trading here. Anyway, it is what it is. The firm has shrunk in size. Were here to do business. And the thing im most depressed about, in all honesty, is the cost, because of where this money could be going. You probably know this, but youve asked me about it in the past. I took the giving pledge with warren buffett. I told warren when i met with him, if youre talking to people of great wealth, asking for half isnt asking for enough. I intend to give away all of my wealth back to society. Ive given my kids their inheritan inheritance, and basically, my signature event is i have a program called the cooperman college scholars. And i have a plan to send 500 kids to college. Its lifechanging experience to pay their tuition. The average lifetime earnings of a College Graduate is in excess of 1 million greater than a nonCollege Graduate, plus your equipment in the future, giving them a skill set that they otherwise dont have. And i know what my commitment to that program was for 500 kids. And given what this is costing me, i could take that to 2,500 kids. And it just seems such a waste of money. It is what it is. Again, i want to emphasize, i have confidence in the judicial system, and this will have to be heard. I dont control the timetable. As far as im concerned, love to be a trial yesterday. So you dont have a trial date yet. No, this is up to the judge. We have i believe im getting a lesson here. Im told in florida, where i reside, that they have whats called rocket docket treatment. Where you can ask for accelerated treatment. This is a philadelphia judicial system and they dont have provision for rocket docket. So we have asked the judge for expedited treatment, and well have to wait and see. Again, you know, it is what it is. And im optimistic in the end that right makes might. But well see. We have to wait and see. Do you think if youre cleared of these charges that your business will eventually recover . Well, its a Good Business now. We have 3. 4 billion. About 60 is client is our money. 40 is client money. Its enough of an opportunity to earn money. Lets face it, size is an anchor to performance. Certain benefits to being smaller. I would have rather have gotten smaller in a different way than ive gotten smaller. Im 73. Im giving my money away to society. I work hard enough. I just want to grow through appreciation and performance. Im not looking to a marketing game, raising a lot of money. I just want to feel good about myself, deliver the performance my investors deserve and add luster to my reputation and return the luster thats been kind of tarnished by this suit which i think is ill founded. Again, its up to a judge. You mentioned some of the bigname investors who have stayed with you. And i know you dont want to mention any of those names specifically. Have any of them or any of the institutions for that matter who are still with you, urged you to settle . Uh im trying to think. Theres so many different opinions about this. One guy that i have enormous respect for i just love the guy. Im heterosexual, but i say hes a man. Is can langhosn. He said ive known you for over 40 years, i know what you stabbed for, i know what youre all about. I can only tell you the best 30 million i spent, deferreding myself against eliot spitzer. If you have done nothing wrong, dont give money to defend yourself. About three months letter, ive been in a Board Meeting and a gentleman comes over to me, very wellintentioned and said i want to tell you the worst three years in my life was when i had a s. E. C. Problem in the late 80s, do whatever they want and get rid of them. And i said interesting theory. Im kind of in kens camp. It is what it is. Its inappropriate for me ken gave me the permission to use his name. Others i dont feel are appropriate. These are people that started, founded and were built fortune 25 companies. That understand the system, understand the game. And im disappointed that the institution something which i had a relationship for 50 years pulled out without even calling an attorney. I mean, you know, if my attorneys felt there was something wrong done, they would have advised me to settle. But, you know, they said, we know inside trading. There is no inside trading here. So well have to wait and see. It is what it is. Lets talk about the markets then. I have a few guys in front of me here on the set. Pete najarian along with joe terranova. Those guys are smarter than me. They ought to tell you when they think. Not a chance. We have all watched what the markets have done since election night, really in mazement. Im sort of wondering what your own thoughts are about where stocks have gone since november the 8th, and where you think they can go from here. Yeah, well, i would say, look, stock prices are or price earnings ratios are a function of a companys growth rate, a function of Interest Rates, and a function of confidence. And clearly, the major change since the election is confidence has entered the system, you know my great friend, early on in the business, when he joined the business, used to write about octogenarian plays. Ceos that werent well thought of, and when they pass away the stocks would rally. This is a real indictment to the prior administration. This great optimism, the feeling was previous regulators had their foot on the throat of the economy and the economy was indicating. And well have to basically wait and see. I myself am much more restrained in my optimism. Im looking at 2017 as a year where we continue to move towards normalization. As the Business Cycle ends ages. What i mean by normalization, i think Interest Rates are going to go up. Inflation is going to go up. Corporate profits are going to go up. And price earnings ratios are likely to decline. And my most optimistic scenario would be Something Like a 17 multiple on 140 in s p earnings, and that number i think is 23. 80. And were 22. 50 or 60. So 5 upside, 2 dividend, 7 , Something Like that. And things can go wrong. So i find myself, you know, very comfortable with the stocks i own, which we think are value, but on the overall market, i fairly neutral to mildly positive. Not ebb land. Maybe Jeremy Seigel will be ebb lent. But im mildly positive. If the trump agenda actually gets passed in the magnitude at which the market has risen in expectation, could you then get a greater lift to corporate earnings and multiple expansion, thus taking the market higher than you expect . Yeah. Well, thats what the market is basically the market is forward discounting the expectation of repatriation of foreign earnings, the reduced Corporate Tax rate. I mean, those two things alone could add about 10 to s p earnings. So assuming Nothing Happened in 2017, the s p earnings would be about 130. If we got repatriation, and we got a tax rate down to the low 20s, you could see earnings of 140. And then the question becomes, what is the proper multiple. And, you know, i kind of feel 17 times earnings is a reasonable number. You know, theres lots of things we have to be concerned about. I dont want to talk out two sides of my mouth. What i hear coming out of Donald Trumps mouth is very similar to what we heard from president reagan. President reagan ran a platform and said i want to restore the lost prestige of the united states, and do that through rebuilding our defense capability. Im going to get the government off the backs of the people by balancing the budget. President reagan figured out relatively quickly you couldnt do all three. And hes implicitly said the hell with the budget, were going to do the first two, and we basically bankrupted the soviet union as we rebuilt that defense capability. And its not clear that we could accomplish all these things. We have to watch very, very carefully. There is no question, confidence has entered the system. When the market goes up, youre too conservative, if it goes down, youre not bearish enough. A man i have enormous respect for i was on your program january of last year. And that was early february. Thats when the market got clocked. It was down 10 . And i think bottomed at 18. 10. And i said on the program i thought the market ought to support a 15 multiple, 15 to 17 multiple range. And this guy who so much smarter than me, the life of a human being, very generous. Im not going to give his name. Its not my position, but sends me an email, saying your multiple is too high. And i responded this is a guy i have enormous respect for. I want, what have you got in mind. And his response was 13 times. He says that we have artificial monetary policy. I mean, i happen to agree with that latter part. I dont understand why Interest Rates are where they are. And let me just say this. If Interest Rates a year from now are 240 on the tenyear government and fed fund is 50 basis point, you dont make double digits returns in the stock market. Simple as that. You dont make double digits returns. A normal environment to me the tenyear Government Bond ought to track nominal gdp. If the fed wants 2 inflation and lets say we have 2 to 3 real gdp under trump, lets say three, thats 5 . The tenyear government doesnt belong at 2. 5 or 2. 4. Its there mainly because of the feds policy and the short end of the curve, which is, you know, very much tied to whats going on with the Dollar Exchange rate. Very worried about an excessively strong dollar could create a problem in the economy. You would certainly give you would certainly give pardon me for my interruption. You would certainly give a lot back of this socalled reflation trade, which certainly appears to be alive and well in expectation of what trump is going to deliver. If Interest Rates dont go anywhere. Well, you know, i Interest Rates are expected to go up and the market accepts that. The stock market is undervalued relative to current Interest Rates. The stock market incorporates higher Interest Rates. As long as we get Economic Growth in the slope of the rise is gradual, the market can handle it. You know, again, i know i sound like a statsician, its been 15 times and when the market multiple is 15 times, basically tenyear government was about 6. 6 , and Treasury Bill rate 5 . I think its treasury is 30, 40, 50 basis points and the tenyear government 2. 4 . So the market is allowing for higher Interest Rates or slower future Economic Growth. But i think that a lot of president elect trumps program will get enacted. A bipartisan support. And we hopefully get the country going again. Im all for that. You know . I mean, i love my country. I tend to be more longoriented in my investment program. And i my investors do better and i do better when the country is prospering. Im just wondering democrat or republican. If you think we have borrowed from 2017 in this run that we have had to end 2016 and if you thought stocks were fairly or fully valued the last time you were on, given whats happened in the stock market, whether you just say theyre too expensive where they are right now. I would say theyre fully valued. Dont forget, you know, i was on a year ago, the trend line returned is about 6 in equities. So the market deserves to be 6 higher a year later, right . So were now looking one year out. But no question about it. I think the stock market is reasonably fully valued. Again, i as you know, i love only wish i coined the phrase, ji, John Templeton did. Bull markets mature on optimism and die in euphoria. And i would say if the market continued in the next month or two, like its been the last two or three months, you would be for euphoria and i would be forced to become bearish. Interesting. You really have heard the words, animal spirits, and euphoria being used more now than perhaps they have been in the last many, many years. Theres no question that people are more optimistic. But i dont think prices are euphoric. You know . Prices arent euphoric. You know, i have a list of stocks i know well talk about later that are trading at, you know, low double digit multiples, high single digit multiples, Good Businesses. There is plenty of value in the market. I would say if the s p continued very strong here, it would resemble euphoria. And that would be a warning sign. But we will have to wait and see. I dont think were euphoric at the present time. But we have we have pulled ahead. We have pulled ahead of some future returns. Yeah, and thats sort of thats one effort points. Ill let you get your earpiece back in. That was one of the points i was making. I think people are wondering, just given the magnitude of this trump rally, as were calling it, have you undoubtedly borrowed from 2017, at least a bit . How about judging me by the numbers. 22. 50. You tell me. Making 4 or 5 in the next 11, 12 months enough or not enough . Its enough because of the craziness in the fixed income markets. But, you know, youve got to be careful. You dont want to discount an equity stream of earnings by something that is bubble like in its pricing. We just had a record level of car sales, over 18 million seasonally dressed annual rate and the fed is 50 basis points . I would have never thought that situation would exist. Rates should be higher. So people dont know what to do with money. Right. Im just like everybody else. I put my pants on one leg at a time and ive got to take my savings and decide what i want to do with it. And i dont want to buy a tenyear government at 240. I dont want to sit in cash earning 40 basis points. And i want to buy my face to facit equity and keep a certain county of liquidity if this doesnt all work. You have given me a good segue into getting to the first stock pick of the day. Because when you mention people are spending their money, they certainly seem to be on automobiles and in other parts of the economy. But they certainly do not seem to be spending their money in the Nations Department stores, which are suffering greatly, even today is a perfect example, given what the stocks at macys and kors are doing. Pvh, however, is a different story. Today they say they will beat the top be at the top of their guidance range. The stock is reacting differently than some of these other retailers, and, in fact, it is one of your top picks. Do you want to tell us why . Yeah, valuation. And my case, you know, i have eight analysts that work with me and theyre so much sharper about the fundamentals of the individual companies. I defer to them. But understand my mindset. When i look at the s p 500, its 500 Companies Growing somewhere between 5 and 6 per annum. They yield about 2 . Have about 35 debt to capital in their capital structure. And they sell a little bit on the three times book value. For those financial statistics, youre paying Something Like 17 times earnings. So my game at omega is to look for more growth, more yield, more underlying asset value at a lower valuation. So pvh is a very fine company. By the way, i might add, macy pointed out their mens wear was doing very well. And so pvh is you know, a major menswear clothing manufacturing. But pvh with an outstanding record, probably grow 10, 12 over the next few years selling at a little bit over ten times earnings. Not much of a yield because theyre focused on stock repurchase and paying down debt rather than paying a dividend. But its all in the valuation. Its a ten multiple and good brands, growing very nicely. And i think the Department Store issue, correct me if i am wrong, has a lot to do with, you know, channel of distribution. Amazon says retail sales are pretty darn good. So its a channel of distribution issue. Yeah. No doubt. And in fact, on that note, pete najarian, who is with me today, has a question for you. Hey, lee. This is my question for you. All about multichannel distribution. And obviously, as we have gone through this, pvh has great growth going on right now. Have you considered, and i bring this up, because stephanie link, who is aville investor, very similar to you, looks at the bottom and goes all the way to the top. She actually has put positions on in amazon. Is that something have you looked at that, and if not, why havent you looked at amazon . As a matter of fact today up 2 while the rest of retail is getting slammed. Well, we own amazon. But i didnt put it on my you know well, there you go john wolf, my partner, who is responsible for the fang companies, were long amazon, were long facebook. Largest position of the fund, i believe, is google. Its about 4 of our assets. But i did not put amazon and its valuation on the top of my list. But he likes it a lot. Hes been more right than me. Im kind of an oldstyle value guy. I look at, you know larry tissue, who is a great man, deceased, once made a comment to me. He said, eebt dameans we have no earnings. I think google is a lot cheaper. Google is trading at about a market multiple with enormous amount of cash growing 20 a year. And on next years earnings, google, youre buying 15 times earnings. And youre sitting on a ton of excess cash. Ill interrupt you for just a second. Forgive me. Im just so curious as to how one of the ultimate Value Investors of our time gets his arms around amazon and decides that even despite this incredibly lofty valuation, its worth making an investment in. Well, you know, part of what i do is i have a diversified team. And im trying to, you know i always love to quote andrew carnegie, who said he wanted his epitaph, here lies a man wise enough to bring into his service men and women wiser than he. So he i have a team and im a big consumer of amazon. I have planter farb right ice in my foot and i google it and i find they sell slant boards to stretch your tendons in your calf. And not only one slant board, they had about nine or ten different ones. I understand amazons value proposition. Im just more comfortable with the staying away from those multiples. But i understand why we like it. I understand why we own it and i give a certain amount of flexibility to my team. Lee, were going to take a quick break and be right back. Much more with the Legendary Hedge Fund manager, Lee Cooperman. Plus a man calling for dow 20,000 on what is holding us up. And what will take us over the big threshold. Mortons Jeremy Siegel joins the conversation, next. , are do hoh i bra amamadg kndg caou debuy rss mserstven tude , are do hoh i bra onands of oraold myinmy stocks lower this hour. Major averages up 1 or more in the first three trading days of 2017. For more on the markets, lets bring in Jeremy Siegel from the university of pennsylvania, joins us live, as always from philadelphia. Professor, welcome. Good afternoon. Its great to have you. We also have Lee Cooperman of omega, as well. Yes. So youve listened to the conversation. Im wondering what you make of mr. Coopermans views and how they sort of mesh with your own outlook for where stocks now go. Yeah. Well, he calls me ebullient, and i usually am quite positive. I think he gave some very, very good analysis. This is where i stand. I think the tax Corporate Tax reform and lowering the rate is the most important thing thats driving the market. I think also the prospect of lowering regulation a bit on the prospect of repatriation of those foreign funds. I think all those work positively. And i dont think all that effect has yet been put in. Now, there is a wild card. We all worry, is trump going to go on to a trade war, a currency war, and all of that is kind of in the back of my mind. He hasnt moved in that position yet. And if he doesnt move in that position, i definitely think we have more up side. I also dont think the Interest Rates are going to rise quite as much as leon said. Mainly because i think treasuries have become very much of a hedge asset over the last five or ten years. Something goes bad, the fed doesnt raise. People run to treasuries. This did not happen in the 70s, in the 80s when we had really a lot of inflation, oil problems. So i think that term structure is going to be very flat, and even though i think were going to have a stronger economy, you know, maybe 3 on the tenyear. 3. 5. Honestly, i would be surprised if it got to 4 . But youre sort of making the case that the 17 multiple on 140 of s p earnings, which gets you in lees mind, to 23. 80, is too conservative, based on your own view. I think it could be too conservative. I actually if you take out the very high Interest Rate periods in post war, you get closer to an 18 or a 19 multiple. Now, i will say, 140 is a youre going to have to have a big boost to get there next year, so thats sort of on the high side. Analysts have definitely been way too optimistic on a forwardlooking basis. Now, again, he pointed out, which is some of the numbers i have, that the Corporate Tax cut is a 10 boost, and then we are out of the earnings recession. It definitely looks like we are coming out, so that will get us there. But i dont know if were going to really get to 140. I also look at what i call s p operating earnings, which are a little more conservative than whats called the pro forma firm reported earnings. So, you know, i would be happy with him at 130. But i can really see, you know, pes of 18, 18. 5, 19. We could get to the same place with a slightly different mix of pes and earnings. Im unwilling to use those kind of pe assumptions, for several reasons. One, we have an artificial monetary policy. The Interest Rates are being held at levels that are below what are economically justified. Second, you know, if you study the history of valuation, when companies are at preprofitability, the margins tend to be the profit pe ratios tend to come down. When General Motors was at the peak, analysts would say how cheap it is at four times earnings. And at a trough of the cycle, almost 20 times earnings. So im adjusting price earnings ratios in my mind for margins, where we are record levels. And finally, lets make no mistake about it. The Balance Sheets of corporations and the Public Sector are stretched. The debt coverage ratio, interest coverage, looks very good, because Interest Rates are very low. Bepoured on a lot of debt into Balance Sheets and the government got 19 trillion of debt. We cant seem to save 5 or 10 billion in any program. 100 basis point increase, 19 trillion of debt is 190 billion. We have a lot of wood to chop. And im not comfortable using a 19 multiple. But there is some its a combination of what your earnings assumption is. And my 140 assumed repatriation and significant Corporate Tax cut. I think the number is closer to 130. Professor . Well, its my opinion that actually the low Interest Rates are mostly due to Market Forces and economic forces, extremely slow productivity growth. Very low inflation until a Reasonable Risk aversion as a result of the biggest bear market in the 75 years. I mean, i think that those are the fundamental factors that have driven those rates down. So i see maybe fed funds going to 2. I dont see it going as high as the fed said. Im really probably more in the bill gross mold of saying the new normal might be 2 fed funds and 3 to 3. 5 treasuries. New world of older investors that are risk averse. So that could be associated with a higher ratio on that. Also, by the way, on margins, a lot of the low margin is actually due to selling into the foreign sales, which have increased over ten years. And the lower corporate rates, of course. We have the highest in the world. If we can get those corporate rates down to those levels, which was there is no reason why those margins shouldnt be sustainable at these levels. I guess the only point im trying to make is if Interest Rates deserve to be long, im not a bear. Im just saying the market is, you know, adequately valued. But if Interest Rates deserve to be where you suggest they are, that means Economic Growth and Profit Growth and price earnings ratios ought to be somewhat adversely affected. You know, because there is a Capital Market line when you learn in cash, has some indications to what you earn in Government Bonds, which have some implications what you earn in junk bonds. So on and so forth. So i dont think that were going to be making 15, 20 a year in the stock market and making, you know, half of 1 in money markets. Professor, before i think its also you mentioned that we the tenyear should be somewhat what gdp growth is. Right. I think were looking forward to that being lower, because i think people hang on to treasuries as those hedge assets what we call negative beta assets. Very, very different than most of what we saw in the post war period. Professor, before i let you run, let me ask you one last question. Thats why the resistance to dow 20,000 . Why did we suddenly stall . And what, if anything, is that telling us . I think its called acrophobia. Isnt that fear of heights . I think we have kind of stalled at 10,000 back in 1999, we kind of poked through it. It took about two weeks for us to get through. You know. And i agree with leon. Were not cheap right now. So, you know, we have to see good things happen, and i think it is going to happen. I think were going to get it here in the month of january. It is just a matter of digesting all of the news coming through. Professor, can i just say one thing . Please. About dow 20,000. Yeah. If i gave you five singles for a 5 bill . Would you feel any richer . 20,000 is just a number. Its just a number. Its also but, listen. We all remember back in 1999 when it hit 10,000, its the hats were on. The cheers were there. Its a milestone. My only the public we human beings look at milestones. Thats all it means. Nothing special. On that lee, to some respect, i suppose professor, it is a sign post, though. And it is if nothing else, a symbol to what lee, you said earlier in this sort of change of optimism that has led us to get to 20,000 faster than maybe the majority was expecting that we would be, given the results of the election. Yeah, i would say gotten there faster. I have a i play in a dollar two poker game on tuesday nights. Down here. And with a bunch of retired fellas. And i was sitting there on a tuesday night, election night, and the s p is down 100 points, because donald trump was winning. And the next morning, people walk in and said thats a wonderful thing. You know, sentiment is you know, we have a tweeting president. You know . We there are lots of issues. You know . But were all optimistic. Were hopeful that he will do what he set out to do. And free up the economy and reduce regulation. And basically reduce taxation. And im all for that. Well, we are lucky to have two professors on the show today. One figuratively, one literally. Professor siegel, good to have you on. Happy to be on. Were back with Lee Cooperman. He breaks down more of his top stock ideas, plus fitbits stock down more than 66 over the past year. James park, ceo of that company, next, right here on the Halftime Report. D i r iti t ri rettid retirent were back. The consumer less than trox show kicking off in vaegs today. Jon fortt joins us live from the event with fitbits ceo, james park. Hey, jon. Hey, scott, thanks. James, thanks for joining us. Here from ces. Got to cut right to the chase with the stock. Back in november, that forecast just sent shares plummeting. What can you tell us about the flex 2, where you are in production with that, batteries, and how youre looking for a 2017 demand wise. Cant really speak yet to our introduction issues. What i can say, both flex 2 and charge 2 are incredibly wellrated products on amazon. Both are four stars or better. Im really excited about these products and i think consumers are pretty excited, as well. Youre talking about software and partnerships here at ces. Recently moving more into the Health Care Space with United Health care. How do you expect a partnership with United Health care that i guess basically rewards people for letting their insurer know how active they are . How do you expect that to affect fitbit overall . I think the United Health care deal was a huge deal for us. You know, we have always talked and people have always asked us, when are you going to partner with the Health Insurance industry, because it seems like a nobrainer. I think the challenge for us over the years, we have worked closely with employers, but the Insurance Industry has taken a while. There is a lot of dollars at stake so they have taken a very thorough research, done a lot of internal studies to validate that using wearables can actually result in health care savings. And now theyre comfortable with that. So in conjunction with us, qualcomm and health care, were rolling out this program where were paying 1500 to users to use our devices, which is really incredible. Its really exciting. Are there any barriers to entry here for other devices, other platforms, to do the same thing . Because whether its apples phones that have the m chip in them, whether its apple watches or other devices that count steps, lots of people have that basic capability. Is there anything to stop them from doing the same thing, or is there some validation on your metrics that makes it special . We have worked close with qualcomm, United Health care to validate a lot of the algorithms. The other thing we bring into the table is ten years of experience. We have shipped over 50 million devices. So a company like United Health care really needs a partner that is proven in this category. Thats where we come in. Lots of Software Announcements to peloton. Exciting to watch what you guys do next, james. Thanks for joining us on cnbc. Scott, back to you. James park, jon fortt, thank you very much. Next, more on leon coopermans picks. Get your tablets, phones, computers ready. Well be back right after this. A ght ourrs no. Do next, more on leon next, more on leon there is a huge power lunch at the top of the hour. At the Goldman Sachs company in florida, and the First National tv interview with the new ceo of chesapeake energy, doug lawler. And a couple other ceos will join us and the goldmans top stock pick in oil and gas. Plus, matt boss, jpmorgan, one of the few that got this retail wreck right. He called macys and kohls. Your guest at the top of the show. And thats not if it for ceos. Sony, hulu, a massive power lunch at the top of the hour. More Halftime Report and coopermans stock picks after this short break. Welcome back to the Halftime Report im jackie deangelis. Gold surging as the u. S. Dollar weakens. What else is pushing gold higher today . Jackie, we can blame china and we can blame the fed. China, because they made moves to strengthen their currency, which weakened the dollar, as you mentioned, causing the gold buyers to come in. And the fed took a decidedly dovish tone in their Meeting Minutes yesterday, worried about the strong dollar. And im not going to call it a fear trade, but certainly the concern trade for gold is back in, causing the buyers to come in. Jeff killburg, gold breaking through the 1180 mark over the level today. Where do we go from here . Jackie, we talked about the 1170 market. We went through 1170. Found some good support. Right now looks like we want to go high, test 1200 as inflations expectations strengthen. Okay. Meantime, were going to talk more about this subject on the show. At futures now. Cnbc. Com at the top of the hour. Its a big show. Blackrocks Terry Simpson on a contrarian way to profit in 2017 and thsven henrik. More Halftime Report after the break. T ightre t ightre llu ppwis ppyochatretligp,eet all right. We are back on the Halftime Report with the legend, and lets talk about the stock picks. First would bone, im asking ab particular name. Great do have you on, lee. Walgreen boots. Came out with earnings. Revenue light. Stock traded down hard, but made a significant recovery. I know its a significant part of the portfolio. Whats the upside and how good do you feel about this one . I think, actually, you know, im set now, but i believe they tightened up guidance and raised the low end of the earnings guidance. Weakness was overdone i agree. And its in your game, but i sold some 75 strike price puts for 3. Nice. Thats why hes the best. Might as well bank that coin. Yeah. We that works. We had three Health Care Stocks that were not particularly good in 2016 that we think recover in 2017, shy pharmaceutical, a 15 grower trading at a single digit multiple next year, nine times earnings this year, 12 earnings next year. Allergan cost us a lot of money. 15 recovery, and then walgrenns, thats our health care representation. Are you concern about rhetoric from the Nations Capital via trump, twitter, or otherwise that hits Health Care Stocks again this year . Yeah, im concern about all the rhetoric. I think its dangerous. You know, i dont think we want to screw around with china. Its an important trading partner. You know, i think we have to just be professional, diplomatic, and intelligent about how we conduct our affairs. Maybe im too establishmentlike in the thinking, but i would say we could benefit from some reduced rhetoric. Lee, i see your position its joe i see you positioned in hess, up 30 since the election, sensitive to the price of oil. Take that for you to be thinking oils prices are going higher . Yeah. We kind of think a year from today, the oil prices will between 65 70 a barrel. Global growth that requires more production. And the negative cash flow is going to keep cap on expiration expenditur expenditures. Plus, interesting expiration prospects in ghana not properly valued by the market, so, yes, we like it, and prices are higher. One thats disappointing stock for us because we thought the company did a foolish acquisition, but substantially below the nav of the company is gulf port, gpor, the energy group. Disappointing stock for us. Looks cheap. We think the underlying gas is the worst problem. 3 3253, and the stock is 21. The company did a deal making no sense. Youll hold or sell it . We actually added to our position. You did. Yeah. On the decline. Mgm, why do you like mgm . Las vegas is coming back strongly. They is an important position there, and its very reasonably praise. You can get factoids from the analysts more than from me, but, basically, its a very fine company, growing very nicely, las vegas is coming back, and i think they are going to benefit. We think its worth mid30s, tradi trading 28. When it was on the list, it was cheap, first data, stocks around 15, trades at eight, nine times earnings. Worried about leverage, 19 billion in debt, but no maturing debt for five years and generate a billion a year, Free Cash Flow annually. Its something that grows into the Balance Sheet and trading at five or six mobile points lower than competition. Delever, its a double bang, a higher evaluation and stronger blast sheet. Is it a singular stock story or into the payment space in regime general . Single stock, the space is stable. Top line growing 34 , no major change, no innovation that derails the system, the computers they run on will change, so theres a good, strong position, and a very reasonably priced stock, and as the Balance Sheet improves, valuation will expand. Lee, i cant thank you enough for the time today. Thank you so much for joining us. Wish you a happy, healthy one for 2017. My pressure. Happy new year to you and the viewers. Thank you. Talk soon. Lee cooperman of omega advisers joining us live and exclusively from florida. Well be right back. Th in he ilife th we18 wmicllpenrey y d workogeter e togethoe. Thats all for us. Thank you for watching. Power lunch begins now. Im melissa lee live, it is a sea of red in retail after the first read on holiday sales sorely disappoint. Retail analysts warned you about this, and we are live straight ahead. Im michelle carusocabrera. The dow now low 80 points, and nasdaq and s p lower, too. Well go inside the numbers coming up. Im tyler mathisen. Wall street watching washington