Inflation, theres one indicator they follow particularly closely, and here it is. The pce price if index which measures changes in the cost of living for households. In the last year its gone up just 2. 4 , very much as expected. Not hot. Finish the market kind of likes it. Before that the number came out, the dow, the nasdaq, the s p, theyre all way down. Now theyre the up. Nasdaq up about 93 points. Interest rates were edging lower, now theyre just about unchanged. About 4. 25 on the 10year, and the 2year well above 4. 5, oh, yeah, 4. 65 . Oil getting closer to 80 a barrel, 78. 90 right now. Gas is actually up 2 cents to an average of 3. 31. Diesel, down 1 cent at 4. 06. And now here you have it, bitcoin, its had a great week. Where is it now . If 62,999. Ill call that 63,000 the per coin. Poll ticks. Dueling border visits. Biden goes to the very quiet brownsville section. In his remarks he will blame republicans for the crisis. Donald trump goes to the very active eagle pass section. What he will say, it is bidens open border. Voters so far is believe trump. A judge in illinois says, oh, she believes trump was involved in an insurrection. Therefore, he cant appear on the ballot many that state. Hes never been charged with an insurrection. This is a very political decision. Separately, the Supreme Court will hear trumps immunity request, but the timing means biden probably wont get the trial and conviction of trump that he wants before the election. The democrats legal attack on trump is delayed. They dont want that. On the show today another example of the president sing cognitive difficulties. Former speaker Kevin Mccarthy says even many if oneonone, private, closed door meetings he always uses cue cards. And if the discussion goes beyond whats on the cards, he cant. To our question is, who writes the cards . Who is really calling the shots . Look, were not piling on here. I think were doing a public service. Thursday, february the 29th. Yes, it is leap year with day. Varney company is about to begin. I feel good today. Cant nobody bring me down. And i Just Got Paid stuart [inaudible] all right. The james brown version myself, its kind of more upbeat. I do too. Stuart gets you going. [laughter] lauren i dont care who feels good, im looking at a dreary, dark city street. Stuart we really shouldnt start the show with a dreary looking sixth avenue, but we did. Lauren sorry, america. Stuart the inflation indicators move the markets. Today inflation if gauge that measures household costs. Lauren has the pce number. Lauren i mean, i have that Jerome Powell has cover to wait out. I mean, he really does. The fed needs more data to determine if and how many rate cuts are warranted. These are the numbers for january, exactly as we expected. The feds preferred gauge, pce, up 2. 4 yearoveryear, the slowest in almost three years. It did come down from december but not by more than we thought. So lets take out food and energy, thats the core pce, it rose 2. 8 annually. Again, down from december. Again, the slowest in almost three years, since march of 202 221. 2021. Put it all together, all i can say is over to you, jay powell. What are you going to do with all of this . What are you going to do with all this data . Youve got to wait for more. Stuart hes going to study the it, as he always does. Futures, by way, are a higher. Up 75 on the dow, nearly 100 up on the nasdaq. Adam johnson with me this morning. Yes, sir. Stuart looks like investors like the reading. As well they and we should. Pce, personal consumption expenditures. Its one of those tongue twisters, was up at 6. 5 . Its now at 2. 5 . Cpi was above 9, its now at 3. Ppi was above 11, its at 2. I mean, inflation is coming down. Okay, it may not be yet at the feds target of 2, but its pretty close to there. And, by the way, some of the measures of inflation if already at 2 . So were doing okay. Stuart hope springs eternal for a rate cut from the fed at some point, thats where we are. Yes. Stuart youve got to tell me about bitcoin. Were at almost 63,000 a coin right now. Where is it going . I think its going higher. And one of the reasons, stuart well, okay, there are two reasons. Number one, rusk on. People willing to get back in the markets and take riskier stuff into their accounts. Point number two, there are only going to be 21 million bitcoin ever in history, ever, as long as the world exists, only 21 million bitcoin will be created. Were at about 19. 2 right now. So theres some scarcity value. People are realizing, oh, theres only so much of this thing out there. Lets buy it. Stuart its a new form of investment. To me, its a gambling chip, but its not going away, is it . Ive never bought bitcoin. I do own coinbase which is sort of the picks and shovels way to play bitcoin. Yeah, if you are distrusting of government, if you think that the government spends too much money, if your worried about the value of the dollar, bitcoin is a place where you could perhaps if hide. Or if youre worried about what new york state is doing to donald trump, potentially seizing assets, you cant seize bitcoin. Stuart adam, stay with me for the hour. Now this, a judge in illinois has ruled donald trump ineligible to appear on the primary ballot. Lauren here we go again. Illinois, colorado, maine maine, judge tracy porter says the 4th amendment 14th amendment prohibits trump from appealer on the ballot because he engaged in an insurrection trying to hold on to power after a losing the 2020 election. Remember, trump was never if charged with insurrection. While there are challenges to keep him off the ballot in, count, 36 states, most judges are waiting to hear from the Supreme Court. They have already heard the issue, but their formal ruling awaits. Illinois got a jumpstart. Stuart okay. Next one, senator minority leader, thats Mitch Mcconnell, obviously, we know hes stepping down in november. Tell us more about his decision. Lauren such a real, real moment. 17 years, leading republican. The 82yearold leader says he finally experienced that moment, his words, where he had total clarity and peace about the sunset of his work. Thats what its all about a, right . When do you know its time to step away. He said it is time now for a new generation, so he is stepping down. I would say this suggests that the transformation of the Republican Party under donald trump is about to be complete. Stuart agreed 100 . Lauren he has not endorsed the former president. Stuart sor hurt. Look at this oped ed, who will replace Mitch Mcconnell . 2010 domenech joins me now do ben. Com maine you say the senate gop could have a leader who runs with the voters instead of against them. Whos that leader . Its got to be a trump guy, right . [laughter] well, i think that the former president s views are certainly going to matter, but you have to keep in mind that the senate still, i think if you took a private vote among the senators, donald trump probably still wouldnt be their first choice. So theres kind of this tight rope to walk there between what the former president wants, obviously, the most powerful figure in the party, and what these senators want in terms of someone who can balance their own concerns about policy with potentially the upcoming white house. Obviously, the timing that Mitch Mcconnell is going to step down, well know whether thats going to be a Trump White House or not in no. So thats something in november. So thats something thats definitely going to factor into their decision. Do you want to go with another old hand, someone whos been around for quite some time, perhaps in their 70s, or do you want to potentially go in the direction of one of this Younger Generation senators, especially ones who could potentially bridge this gap. Its one of the reasons why i and i think a lot of other folks consider someone like senator tom cotton to be a potential dark horse in the conversation about a replacing mcconnell because he satisfies a lot of those concerns. Stuart next one, ben. President biden had his physical yesterday. He says the doctor gave him the all clear. But now listen to what former speaker kevin mccac third mccarthy had to say about his cognitive ability in private meetings. He still has a teleprompter when you meet behind closed doors, but theyre ca cards. If you deviate i didnt sit and negotiate with him the debt ceiling. He just sticks to the cards. And if you go, if you deviate from the cards, he cant continue onward there. I respect the man for serving the country, i thank him for that service. But he is not of the age that is best to be ab able to be serving in the presidency, especially the position that he is Going Forward with what i have watched to serve again. Stuart okay, ben, so even in private, closed door meetings hes got the cue cards. And he cant deviate from the cue cards. My question is, whos writing those cards . Who decides whats on those cardsesome because that is, that person who writes it effectively runs the government. Yeah. And i think that, you know, whether thats jeff zients or ron klain, you have a number of different people who are in the white house who are effectively running the government and have been for some time. I do want to point out that age is important here, but there are people who are fully functional. I i mean, look down at the other end of pennsylvania avenue and look at nancy pelosi, chuck grassley, both older than joe biden, and these same concerns are not there. The wait of the the weight of the years really is heavy on him, and i dont think we can have any kind of confidence that even should he achieve election, that hes going to be there for the next four years. Its just such a challenge for the white house. And even no i think those cards which, by the way, not just for important negotiations, but behind the scenes with donors as well reportedly, thats something thats a huge concern for the country. And its one of the reasons why i think theres a very strong possibility still that joe biden doesnt end up being the nominee when it comes to november. Stuart yeah. We report this kind of thing almost every day. Were not piling on, i think were doing a public service. The publics got to know this. Ben domenech absolutely. Stuart thanks for being with us, see you again soon. Quick check of futures. Its thursday morning, the dow up 100 and the nasdaq up 100. Plenty of green after favorable Inflation Numbers earlier this morning. President biden and donald trump make competing stop thes at the southern border today but bringing very different messages. Hunter biden testified for seven hours behind closed doors. House oversight chair james comer says a public hearing is next on the agenda. That could be televised. A report on that next if. Cant nobody if hear me. E got a lot thats on my mind. I cannot breathe. Can you hear it too . Morgan Wealth Management knows its easy to get lost in investment research. Get help with j. P morgan personal advisors. Hey, david ready to get started . Work with advisors who create a plan with you, and help you find the right investments. So great getting to know you, lets take a look at your new investment plan. Ok, great this should have you moving in the right direction. Thanks jen. Get ongoing advice; and manage your investments in the chase mobile app. You always got your mind on the green. Not you. You your Business Bank account with quickbooks money now earns 5 apy. Thats how you business differently. Intuit quickbooks. Fisher Investments at Fisher Investments we may look like other money managers, but were different. other money manager you cant be that different. Fisher Investments we are. We have a team of specialists not only in investing, but also also in financial and Estate Planning and more. other money manager your clients rely on you for all that . Fisher Investments yes. And as a fiduciary, we always put their interests first. other money manager but you still sell Commission Based products, right . Fisher Investments no. We have a simple Management Fee structured so we do better when our clients do better. other money manager huh, were more different than i thought Fisher Investments at Fisher Investments, were clearly different. The future is not just going to happen. You have to make it. And if you want a successful business, all it takes is an idea, and now becomes the future where you grew a dream into a reality. The all new godaddy airo. Put your Business Online in minutes with the power of ai. Its time. Yes, the time has come for a fresh approach to dog food. Everyday, more dog people are deciding its time to quit the kibble and feed their dogs fresh food from the farmers dog. Made by vets and delivered right to your door precisely portioned for your dogs needs. Its an idea whose time has come. Your shipping manager left to find themself. leaving you lost. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. Indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. Visit indeed. Com hire clicking im jonathan lawson. If youre 50 to 85, please listen closely. The lock i want to talk to you about isnt the one on your door. Its a rate lock for your Life Insurance that guarantees that once youre insured, your rate can never go up at any time, for any reason. Many policies you see dont have one, but you can get a lifetime rate lock from colonial penn. This plan was designed for people on a fixed income with Coverage Options that start at 9. 95 a month. Thats less than 35 cents a day. Your rate is locked in for life. Coverage can never be cancelled, and your acceptance is guaranteed. You cannot be turned down because of your health. See for yourself. Call for an information kit and gift. Both are free with no obligation. Stuart lets get back to the rally in, first of all, stocks. Your youre looking at a nice if firm opening, up 90 on the dow, 100 on the nasdaq. Can you show me bitcoin, please . That rally continues. Now were looking at 63,000 per if coin. Its been on a very nice run this week. Next case, now to the biden impeachment inquiry. Hunter testified behind closed doors, and whats the next step . Okay, james comer says next will be a public hearing. That could be televised. Chad pergram on capitol hill. Any idea when the public hearing could be held, chad . Reporter not really,its fuzzy if the hearing might happen. Hunter Biden Attorney abbe lowell suggests his client may not be interestedded now. Lowell says, quote, there is nothing left to ask. Republicans thought hunter scored special treatment with business deals. Many americans suffer with addictions, but Many Americans actually, i would say all americans except hunter biden that suffer from drug addiction and alcohol addiction, would never be placed on boards of Companies Like burisma and would never be teaching at georgetown unless their last name was biden. Reporter hunter biden said some of his demands for overseas cash came because he was high or drunk. Republicans contend they got what they came for. Hunter dubbed a subpoena last small ducked a subpoena the the last fall. Next up, the release of the transcript. Were able to confirm a lot of the wrongdoings through Hunter Bidens testimony. There are many financial crimes that we believe that were committed by the biden family. Hunter was asked about specific transactions with specific llcs, many of whom that ive referred to as shell companies. Reporter democrats contend the deposition did not change anything, especially as republicans try to build a case to impeach President Biden. But its about the math. The gop probably lacks the votes. Hunter exhausted the republicans more than they exhausted him in that they wanted to wear him down. I saw cruelty in a lot of the ways the questions were asked. I saw an unnecessary delving into personal life matters that had nothing to do with anything being alleged. Reporter at one point democrats say hunter biden mentioned the soninlaw of former President Trump. Hunter suggested republicans investigate Jared Kushner over his access and business deals. If stuart . Stuart cant follow it all, very difficult. Chad pergram, thanks very much, indeed, for straight thenning it out. Thank you, chad. A member of the house judiciary chairman, congressman Kelly Armstrong joins me now. Hunter denies his dad had any connection to his bid dealing. Is that how it business dealings. Is that how it came across to you . Obviously, they were very polished, very well prepared, and the thing i noticed two things i didnt learn yesterday, i didnt learn what the actual business he was in that was making hundreds of millions of dollars, and i learned that when answers were convenient for hunter, then he would talk about them, and when they were inconvenient for him, he would bring up his own addiction and his lack of memory because he was in a wad place. I think the deposition got us what we needed to get. Think the next step is a live hearing. I think the American People need to see whats going if on. Stuart congressman, do you think maybe the American Publics getting a little tired of this because they cant understand it, its complicated . They dont know the names of places and faces . You havent proved the basic point yet, that President Biden was directly involved. Is the public getting tired of it . Well, Large Scale International money fraud schemes are by their very nature complicated, but i think the American Public is tired of a twotiered Justice System an