Squawk Box

Monday - Friday, 6:00 - 9:00 AM ET

Squawk Box

Squawking $143B selfie and NY to Tokyo in 1 hour

Talking Squawk, the official "Squawk Box" blog, provides tidbits, insights, and some sarcastic reflections on the WEEK THAT WAS and the WEEK TO COME from the notepad of the show's senior executive producer.

Athenahealth responds

Jonathan Bush, co-founder, chief executive officer and president of Athenahealth.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC

If you missed Thursday's interview with Athenahealth Chairman and CEO Jonathan Bush, then you missed quite a show. Bush came on to rebut hedge fund manager David Einhorn's disclosure of a short case against his company, which makes Internet loud-based solutions for medical billing and physician-practice management. We're not taking sides here. We just asked the questions and the-always-energetic Bush did not disappoint.

The Oracle of Omaha x 5

Five key things Warren Buffett said on CNBC
VIDEO1:0201:02
Five key things Warren Buffett said on CNBC

Every year, the Monday after the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting—also known as "Woodstock for Capitalists"—Warren Buffett gets up early and spends three hours with Squawk co-host Becky Quick. We love that he does this for us and simply can't thank him enough for making the effort every year.

Now I have to try to make the effort to figure out how to sum up three live hours of the Oracle of Omaha into a few blog links. The problem is that he gives us so much good stuff it's impossible to narrow it all down.

So just when I was literally about to give up, some brilliant editor at cnbc.com posted the story, "Five key things Warren Buffett said on CNBC."

Buffett's right-hand man

Charles Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Jonathan Alcorn | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Did I mention Buffett's long time business partner joined us on Squawk for the last hour, plus? Charlie Munger is great because he really, really, speaks his mind (and he rarely speaks on TV)!

For example, we went around the table and asked if they were worried from an investing perspective about the crisis in Ukraine. Munger's answer: "What the hell do I know about the Ukraine!?"

But Becky did drag some great answers out of him, including his takes on all this recent deal activity in the drug industry and high-frequency trading.

How Charlie met Warren
VIDEO1:5501:55
How Charlie met Warren

Asked about what drew them together, Munger said that they are both "natural wiseasses." Buffett will be probably be remembered as a teacher, Munger predicted—saying he'd like to remembered that way too, but more likely he'll be remembered as a "wiseass."

As if Buffett and Munger were not enough, Microsoft founder (and Berkshire board member) Bill Gates also stopped by and talked about something he rarely talks about anymore… Microsoft.

The $143 billion selfie!

Bill Gates, Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett participate in a "selfie" taken by CNBC's Becky Quick in Omaha. In a live interview, Buffett said based on his experiences with college students who visit Omaha, selfies are "all the rage." The estimated net worth of the three men in the picture: $143.1 billion.
Becky Quick | CNBC

OK, when you have Bill Gates, Charlie Munger, and Warren Buffett all sitting together what would you ask them? How about it guys, can I take selfie with all of ya?

It's incredible to think about how many billions upon billions of dollars are represented in this photo.

So we added it up!

With Gates as No. 1 on the Forbes billionaires list with $77.4 billion, Buffett as No. 3 with $64.9 billion, and Munger's $1.2 billion—these three fortunes represent $143.5 billion (all numbers were calculated as of Thursday morning).

That's bigger than the GDP of many small countries.

Sir Richard lands on Squawk

Branson's supersonic plans
VIDEO0:4900:49
Branson's supersonic plans

Richard Branson is one of Squawk's original "Icons and Rebels." We value his long-term relationship with the show. So when he came on this week and told us that he hopes to build a supersonic jet to fly passengers from New York City to Tokyo in less than one hour, we sat up and took notice.

Hormats returns, but why?

Ukraine situation spinning out of control: Expert
VIDEO3:1603:16
Ukraine situation spinning out of control: Expert

If I listed the entire resume of Robert Hormats it would eat up half the space in this blog. From Goldman Sachs to the State Department to Kissinger Associates, he's done it all. We had him on this week to give us the real deal on how bad this crisis in the Ukraine could get. He described it as "spinning out of control."

With the resume Hormats has, I have no idea why he risks his stellar reputation by coming on this program so much. He must know by now that it's only a matter of time before the control room will try to morph him with one of our fine TV show hosts.

Thanks to our Squawk Director @PaulDeFabo and Technical Director @Keith_Falcone for making these happen!

Dr. Doom strikes again

Marc Faber
Adam Jeffery | CNBC

He's The Prince of Darkness. The Master of Chaos. Marc Faber is editor and publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report and he often comes on and scares us to death.

On Thursday, the closely followed contrarian investor said the 2008 financial crisis could be just a precursor to a more severe economic fallout on the horizon.

Earnings on tap

Tweets of note

Joe went a little Twitter crazy last weekend at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

The most interesting man in the world and some guy with a beard. pic.twitter.com/cRlLoRTu6x

It's amazing how many fans he has.

I never say no to a request from a fan pic.twitter.com/IXo5WMIldi

Word Jumble

"Squawk Box" co-hosts Joe Kernen and Becky Quick keep a handwritten record of their daily Word Jumble standings going back years.
Matthew J. Belvedere | CNBC

In the Becky and Joe Word Jumble grudge match (which has been going on for years after the show), Becky swept the shortened week! While admitting to be a "sore winner," she also owned up to the fact that they only played once. Joe's bonus Jumbled word of the week is DEUPHS. Becky's bonus word is BHBOTI. Answers can be found at the end of the blog.

Mark your calendar (or set your DVR)

  • Monday: Jeff Rosenberg (BlackRock)
  • Tuesday: Oscar Schafer (Rivulet Capital), Edward Breen (Tyco International CEO)
  • Wednesday: Ed Lazear (Stanford University)
  • Thursday: Neil Hennessy (Hennessy Funds)
  • Friday: Richard LeFrak (The LeFrak Organization)

Economic calendar

  • Monday: 3 and 6 month bill auction
  • Tuesday: Retail Sales (8:30am), Import and Export Prices (8:30 a.m. ET)
  • Wednesday: PPI (8:30 a.m. ET)
  • Thursday: CPI (8:30 a.m. ET), Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET)
  • Friday: Housing Starts (8:30 a.m. ET)

The Corny-Sappy Motivational Business-Based Inspirational Quote

"Some people just like to yell."
—Warren Buffett on "Squawk Box" this week commenting on Carl Icahn

*Joe's Jumble bonus word answer:DEUPHS = PUSHED
*Becky's Jumble bonus word answer: BHBOTI = HOBBIT

—By CNBC's Matt Quayle