CNBC Excerpts: CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin Speaks with Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO, Today Live from the World Economic Forum in Davos

WHEN: TODAY, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25TH

WHERE: CNBC'S "SQUAWK BOX"

Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO Lloyd Blankfein today on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Following are links to the interview on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?play=1&video=3000143153 and http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?play=1&video=3000143657.

All references must be sourced to CNBC.

BLANKFEIN ON THE US OUTLOOK:

I do think there's room for optimism in Europe but not as much as in the U.S., the place that's in a much better position right now is the United States…with housing stabilized and probably going back up, with the amount of cash on the side, with the blessing of the energy situation that none of us anticipated but somehow it's just happened and low interest rates, I think the U.S. environment is very good

BLANKFEIN ON INTEREST RATES:

The market has gone up with people being underinvested…there will be a turn, the turn in interest rates and into equities won't necessarily happen when the Fed changes interest rate policy, it will happen when the market decides that the fed will have to change interest rate policy which could happen a lot soon (Andrew: a lot sooner) Sooner than the official.

BLANKFEIN ON THE CLIFF DEAL:

My ear is attuned for hearing more cuts in spending, I am not hearing it, I would be disappointed if this is all there was; as far as the deal was concerned, I think that was a stop gap and I think it was presented as that…I'm dying expenditure and the less spending side.

BLANKFEIN ON DODD FRANK:

Look, the trauma was very great and very recent…I think the act as it came out basically reduced risk and problems, because don't forget the trauma was so big we didn't want it to happen again, but it did it at the cost of impeding the economy.

BLANKFEIN ON COMPENSATION:

In the context of what Nobel Laureates and physicists make it makes no sense at all. In the context of what alternatives are for people in finance, I understand what one has to do to draw talent into our part of the industry… I've been in this firm for 30 years- I was a partner of the firm for longer than I'd been an employee of the firm- most of my interest in Goldman Sachs comes from trading in my partnership interest for stock, so I'm more of a shareholder than an employee.


About CNBC:

With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, CNBC World and CNBC HD , CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to approximately 390 million homes worldwide, including more than 100 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 16 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide.

CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms. These include CNBC.com, the online destination for global business; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides real-time global market data and live access to CNBC global programming; and a suite of CNBC Mobile products including the CNBC Real-Time iPhone and iPad Apps.

Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site athttp://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/networks/cnbc/