Squawk Box

On the May 29 edition of CNBC’s Squawk Box, Richard Engel, NBC’s chief foreign correspondent, conceded that he could not name a single nation where relations have improved with the United States since President Obama took office six years ago. Engel generally stays above the political fray, so this admission about the president’s  foreign policy is revealing. Responding to further…

On Friday April 18, the Obama Administration announced yet another delay on whether or not to proceed with the Keystone XL pipeline. The Obama Administration’s decision came in the wake of a new ABC News-Washington Post poll which found 65 percent of Americans support the construction of the pipeline with only 22 percent opposed. Following the latest delay, NBC mostly ignored the story,…

Global warming activists’ arguments are for the rich and ignore harm to the poor, according to one CNBC host. CNBC “Street Signs” co-anchor Brian Sullivan said on March 21 that climate activists constantly push for a shift to renewable energy, but they often forget the impact to poor communities and energy prices. (video after break)

Venture capitalist and businessman Kevin O’Leary expressed frustration over the minimum wage debate on Feb. 26 during a “Squawk Box” interview. O’Leary, the co-host of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” argued on CNBC that the very debate over wage hikes is already hurting job creation by discouraging small businesses from hiring. (video after break)

Tired of the president dragging his feet, John Hofmeister,  former CEO of Shell, bluntly shared his thoughts about the Keystone XL pipeline on Feb. 18. Hofmeister passionately argued for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline on “Squawk on the Street,” calling it a “no brainer decision” to boost the economy. Hofmeister criticized President Barack Obama’s refusal to approve the pipeline, citing…

Five years ago, CNBC’s Rick Santelli reacted to the possibility of a mortgage bailout with frustration on live television. Quickly, his speech on the trading floor became known as the “rant heard round the world.” Santelli, an on-air editor who reports live from the Chicago Board of Trade, is frequently interviewed during “Squawk Box” and “Squawk on the Street.” It was during one of those…

Most of the media may be convinced by Al Gore-style climate alarmism, but CNBC’s Joe Kernen isn’t afraid to speak his mind. Joe Kernen, co-host of  “Squawk Box” called the inclusion of Former Vice President Al Gore on CNBC’s list of “Top Leaders, Icons and Rebels” both “stupid” and “ludicrous.” His Feb. 11, comments came after fellow co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin suggested that CNBC ought to…

For the second month in a row, the jobs report was a major disappointment. The January jobs report, released Feb. 7 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), showed only 113,000 jobs added, falling far short of the more than 180,000 expected. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.6 percent. The miniscule revision of 1,000 jobs to the December report compounded the shock. Many had dismissed the…

CNBC’s morning anchors were troubled by the news that their own insurance plans will become more costly under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On Oct. 30’s “Squawk Box,” CNBC Senior Correspondent Scott Cohn revealed details of NBC’s open enrollment, brandishing an official fact book outlining the process. He quoted the document, revealing that the ACA would increase employee premiums.

Near the end of the fourth story on Monday's NBC Nightly News, White House correspondent Peter Alexander managed to squeeze in a mention of the network's scoop that the Obama administration knew for years that millions of people would be kicked off of their current health insurance plans because of ObamaCare, despite the President's repeated assurances to the contrary. [Listen to the audio]…

On CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday, Sun Microsystems founder and Harvard-trained economist Scott Mc Nealy asserted the Federal Reserve has become a "marketing department" for the government and "shouldn't be in any business at all. They shouldn’t be in the business of taxing people by devaluing the dollar, and they shouldn’t be in the business of setting expectations." He said the Fed should…

The August Jobs Report showed 169,000 jobs were added, less than many had predicted and revisions from previous months even included a drop of 74,000 jobs. So the jobs total for the month was really just 95,000. The stock market continued to rally, but CNBC’s Rick Santelli, who covers the Chicago Board of Trade, said that such a contrast was upsetting. “What are we, a banana republic?”…

Let’s all be thankful for CNBC. On this morning’s Squawk Box, co-host Joe Kernen raised a question that the Big Three broadcast networks have been afraid or unwilling to touch thus far. While Kernen was chatting with CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood about the sequester, Harwood brought up the FAA’s announcement that it will close 149 air traffic control towers next month.…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported upside revisions to the number of jobs that were created in last year's fourth quarter. Appearing on CNBC's Squawk Box, Austan Goolsbee, the former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Barack Obama, joked, "It’s an elaborate left-wing plot to make the numbers much better several months after the election so that nobody thinks…