A warm welcome to Worldwide Exchange on cnbc. Im wilfred frost. Lets get to the market picture. As we said in the open, the nasdaq and s p closing at record alltime highs the nasdaq up 0. 7 the s p up 0. 2 the dow was negative, but fractionally this morning pointing to a higher open for the dow and the s p. Just slightly for the nasdaq we got to the 2. 6 level in terms of yields. Just pulled back the last couple of days from that level, but rising again today 2. 63 the yield on the tenyear holding nicely above the 2. 6 level. Dollar board for you, we lost about 0. 2 yesterday the dollar is sliding significantly today. Steven mnuchin did say on the ground in davos that a weak dollar is good for u. S. Exports. Its partly that, but really just a continuation of the trend of a weak dollar weve seen recently in europe, weve got about a third of a percent move higher for the euro we had some composite pmi numbers that came out, 58. 6 ahead of forecasts of 57. 9 the highest level in 139 months. It was led higher by services this time as opposed by manufacturing. So the euro continues its rally of late. The yen, as you can see, noticeably higher, 0. 6 . The pound also higher. So that weak dollar applies also to the aussie dollar, the swiss franc and the Canadian Dollar. A weak dollar, the pound close to 1. 41. What does this mean for markets . In asia, the nikkei has sold off in light of that stronger yen. Elsewhere we have a bit of green on the screen. Of course it has been a fantastic start to the year for asian markets. Hong kong in particular. European trade for you, surprisingly less effected by that strong euro having said that, we are looking lower, but not as low as we could have expected given how strong the eurohas been. In particular germany, which is near record alltime highs and very much an export economy. The ftse 100 down 0. 4 jay powell officially confirmed by the senate to run the fed. This will make him the 16th chairman of the federal reserve. Powell wont assume his duties until Janet Yellens term expires february 3rd to the World Economic forum in davos, switzerland. Gary cohn outlining the goals of President Trumps trip America First is not america alone. I said in my remarks when we grow, the world grows. When the world grows, we grow. Were part of a world economy. The president believes that. Hes going to talk to World Leaders about making sure we all respect each other, we all abide by the laws, we all have free, fair, open, reciprocal trade among the headlines out of davos, Steven Mnuchin told a News Conference a weaker dollar is good for the united states. He says america is open for business and investment and the government is committed to growth of 3 or higher commerce secretary wilbur ross is also in davos he said nafta talks are reopening. He will join squawk box live at 8 30 a. M. Eastern today among an amazing slew of guests. Joining us from davos this morning, the cochairman of bain capital. Good morning to you. Thank you for joining me, steven, live from davos. Lets start with how gary cohn framed the u. S. Administration saying its America First, not america alone. Do you think thats a fair framing of the actions President Trump has taken so far in office and do you welcome those actions . I feel like its a great gesture, and the more we can send a delegation here and get involved in the Global Economy, the better gary is right. Whats good for the global is good for america and vice versa. Its a great sign that so many people are coming over to hear the world views here in realtime and in davos do you think the president s actions so far have been one of America First or america alone i bring up the point of some tariffs imposed on things like solar panels yesterday that sort of action, does it concern you . Likewise when weve seen negative headlines around nafta in the last year or so, is that something that concerns you Going Forward . The u. S. Economy is actually doing very, very well. I think the president ran on an agenda to try and really bolster the middle of the country, who felt unfairly treated in the economic downturn. So i think what theyve got to do is really emphasize fair trade, but im a globalist and i think free trade is where its at and where we will continue to lift america and lift the world. I think its a good sign that so many are over here and hearing the views of the rest of the world and trying to work it out. The theme of the conference is coming together in a fractured world. The more we come together the better off for all of us in terms of the u. S. , youre positive for the outlook for the economy. What about valuations . Clearly valuations are near historical highs for the listed equity markets are you getting fearful that things are topee at the moment things are at a high level. If you step back and take the Big Tech Companies out of the s p, youre at high multiples but not crazy ones like for the last crisis. In private equity, the industry has evolved, so were building and growing companies, but i think bain capital is disciplined and were looking to do things that we know a lot about, like growing industries, doing acquisitions so its definitely at the high end. Were being disciplined in this market you mentioned exports. The u. S. Dollar, how significant of an impact is that having on the economy . Secretary mnuchin mentioning that the weak dollar helps the u. S. Economy and u. S. Exports. Is that something you think is key to continue the Economic Growth that weve seen in the u. S. The last year or so well, i think that the u. S. Dollar has an impact on the companies that we have that can export we have several of those i think in general the company has to make graeat products, currencies have always come up and down and power through that. Thats our philosophy at bain capital, to back management teams. In terms of the tax bill, is that something youre positive of in terms of the impact that will have in the years ahead on the u. S. Economy the tax bill has two good things for the u. S. Economy. The first is theres so much trapped cash overseas, a lot of that is coming back now, given the normalization of those tax rates. Apple is increasing employment that will cause cash to come back and be used in the u. S. Rather than trapped overseas and secondly more Consumer Spending thats good for the u. S. Economy as well. So the big issue is longterm, how do we pay for that im concerned that the National Debt which has crossed 20 trillion now, thats a large National Debt. We have to look at that problem over the long haul were you pleased and surprised to see your industry kept its provision for carried interest being taxed in terms of Capital Gains taxes as opposed to an income tax we honestly dont pay much attention to thachlthat weve been in business for 30 years, our primary focus is to have great returns for our partners we started out with six people in 1984, were 1,000 people now, we can live under any tax regime in terms of the Global Economic picture, strong pmi data out of europe this morning. Last year there was a big tailwind for the u. S. And Global Economy from Global Growth picking up can that continue this year or is it already priced in . I think it can continue when you step back, the crash of 2008 was a large crash its taken a long time to come back from that most recessions take 6, 8 years to come back from that were in the eighth year coming back from that our companys results are good the Market Forecast earnings are good so 2018 looks to be a good year. The question is what happens beyond that. We have to be careful we dont count on rising multiples to make returns for investors when we price deals we are looking at exit multiples that are the same or less than bought in so we have to improve, grow, transform those countries and make them bigger and better for the future so you dont want to pay high multiples as those multiples come down. Thank you for joining me this morning. Back in the u. S. , earnings are once again front and center. Abbott labs, comcast, General Electric and United Technologies report before the opening bell ford is out today after the close. Staying on the earnings theme, shares of United Airlines slipping following its Quarterly Report landon dowdy has more on those details. United airlines posting Fourth Quarter earnings that beat the streets estimates, but shares tanked after analysts seemed unconvinced after oscar munoz laid out the strategy for adding seats united has struggled to increase revenue for each seat it flies per mile add to that airlines facing higher jet fuel costs as the price of oil climbs in q4. Uniteds fuel costs rose 18 from the Previous Year the airlines has unveiled other initiatives like its nofrilled basic economy class, and introduced a premium economy class, which offers a larger seat, more leg room and other perks. Shares have risen more than 15 this year thanks to a sunnier forecast in january. Shares are off about 7 this morning. Delta and american off about 5 as well. Back over to you thank you very much for that. Still ahead on Worldwide Exchange, baidu hinting at deals to bring netflix content to china first a check in on u. S. Equity futures. All three in the green the nasdaq just ticking higher having been in the red moments ago. Coming off record closes for the nasdaq and the s p yesterday back in a couple minutes you know whats awesome . Gigspeed internet. You know whats not awesome . When only certain people can get it. Lets fix that. Lets give this guy gig really . And these kids, and these guys, him, ah. Oh hello. That lady, these houses yes, yes and yes. And dont forget about them. Uh huh, sure. Still yes xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. Now you can get it, too. Welcome to the party. Welcome back to Worldwide Exchange. Oil prices this morning, as you can see, just a little higher for wti. Coming off a decent gain yesterday, 1. 4 . 64. 55 the price of wti at t is embarking on a major ad Campaign Today to pledge support for Net Neutrality the Company Published a letter in several u. S. Papers including the new york tiles and washington post. Stevenson promises at t wont block websites or slow speeds based on content the customers consume. At ts pledge comes a month after the Trump Administration overturned rules requiring internet providers to treat all web traffic equally. The fact that Randall Stephenson is going out of three Big Companies with this links to the fact that he wants some good pr and Public Opinion to get his deal for time warner pushed through. Big deal for the industry. Switching to cryptocurrencies stripe is giving up on bitcoin as a payment method. The company says transaction confirmation time, fluctuations in price and fees are huge drawbacks. Stripes last Bitcoin Transactions will be processed on april 23rd. Stripe one of the big Successful Online startups in the payment space in the last few years. Softbank is reportedly in talks with banks to raise 5 billion in new debt. The tech website, the information, says softbank will use the uk holding arms as collateral softbank has said to be considering how it will use the newly 15 stake in uber to raise additional capital. Baidu is looking to bring netflix to china arjun ka phas more on that i sat down with the president of baidu, he was talking about how baidu would up their own spending on content and there would be more deals around the corner with netflix. We also talked about the investment baidu would be making into the u. S. , and he said they would increase the investment in the u. S. I am concerned, you know, some of the antichina sentiment. Its detrimental to china. Detrimental to u. S and so i actually dont have a specific deal blocked by this, but overall, you know, i believe no borders in technology, talent, or trade there should not be friction cro so, baidu has a big presence in the u. S. Despite some political antichina sentiment out of the u. S zha flshgs zhang said they would continue to make deals with netflix and they have a huge Research Department in the Silicon Valley dedicated to ai. They got hit in 2016 when china clamped down on Online Advertising that hit their revenues and theyre starting to recover, but thats because they shifted into ai, Driverless Cars and content. The company is hoping those will accelerate growth in the next few years. Back to you. Arjun, thank you very much for that still ahead on Worldwide Exchange, the dollar sliding to threeyear lows on broad based weakness well discuss that with paul shard. First here is the National Weather forecast from bill karins the story on the maps is the new storm for the west coast bringing rain and mountain snow, recently this will work its way across the country the problem is that we havent had a lot of snow in the west. We need a couple of these storms to build up the snow pack. Currently the percentage of average, down to the 20 to teen range especially in the mountains of california. Were happy to say were getting snow from this system. We have winter storm warnings, locally 12 to 24 inches, northern portions of the cascades will get significant snow heres the official snow forecast additional snowfall, areas up to a foot in the central portion of california todays forecast, nice throughout the central plains, cold in new england. No travel issues on the east coast. At yr Business Travel forecast more Worldwide Exchange when we come back or even trouble with recall. , thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. The secret is an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. The name to remember. Welcome back to Worldwide Exchange. Tracie potts joins us from washington with the big headlines out of the Nations Capital this morning the big headline is the developments in the russia investigation with confirmation that two of the top former and Current Administration officials have been talking with the fbi according to the washington post, that team, Robert Muellers team is ready to talk to the president two sources tell nbc that fired fbi director james comb ey and attorney general Jeff Sessions have already been interviewed by investigators. It suggests that bob muellers team is climbing up the totem pole. Reporter President Trump says he is not worried about what his attorney general may have said. Not at all. Did you talk to him i didnt. Im not concerned. Reporter this as Congress Tries to hash out an idea on the budget and immigration in over two weeks. We have a fresh start today i challenge every one of us to make the most of it. The American People are watching reporter assurances are already falling apart. Minority leader chuck shum ser wi schumer is withdrawing support to fund the wall he made an offer for a wall, i said if we do full dreamers, well give you a deal. He basically agreed. We were close, then he backed out. President trump said if there is no wall there is no daca. The white house says the president will be involved, but its up to congress to get something on his desk to protect undocumented dreamers from being reported and keep the government running past february 8th. Those demonstrations seem to be turning up the heat on lawmakers. Our new poll fines twothirds of americans want to see a solution for the dreamers, and about equal amounts of americans, about 4 in 10 say they blame the president and democrats for that shutdown tracie potts, thank you very much for that. Back out to the annual World Economic forum in davos, switzerland. Joining us is paul shard good morning to you. Good morning. Paul, early this morning the main headline coming out of davos was secretary mnuchin saying a simple line that we all know to be true, its clearly having an effect on the markets, that a weaker dollar is good for the u. S. Economy and good for u. S. Exports how significant do you think it is that he again is saying that, its something that we know President Trump is aware of as well do you think its having an influence on the forex markets at the moment . I have not seen that comment firsthand and sort of verified it out here in davos, you know, quite a number of things to do other than look at screen. A bit i take a bit of a pass f that is the case, that secretary mnuchin made that comment, its a bit of a shift from the past where the rhetoric was always consistently a strong dollar is more of a positive thing, which is really almost