>> Bill: :32.
MARKETS OPENED TWO MINUTES AGO.
WE’RE UP IN THE GREEN NOW ON
WALL STREET.
LOSSES YESTERDAY PUSHED THE S&P
AND BROADER MARKETS FURTHER
INTO BEAR TERRITORY.
ALL THREE MAJOR INDUSTRIES HAVE
LOST ALL GAINS SINCE PRESIDENT
BIDEN TOOK OFFICE.
MARIA BARTIROMO IS HERE.
HELLO TO YOU, GOOD MORNING.
I TOLD DANA DURING THE BREAK IF
YOU FELL ASLEEP TWO YEARS AGO
AND WOKE UP AND LOOKED AT THAT
AND LOOKED AT GAS PRICES YOU
WOULD SAY WHAT HAPPENED HERE?
GIVE US THE LAY OF THE LAND.
FED HAS A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
LATER TODAY.
WHERE ARE WE NOW IN TERMS OF
THE STRENGTH OF OUR OWN ECONOMY?
>> GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
YOU’RE RIGHT, IT HAS BEEN A
REALLY, REALLY TOUGH RIDE FOR
THIS ECONOMY WITH ALL OF THIS
POLICY BEING THROWN AT IT.
HERE IS WHERE WE ARE.
THE FEDERAL RESERVE IS ENDING A
TWO-DAY MEETING TODAY AT 2:00
P.M. EASTERN TIME AND WE’LL
FIND OUT HOW HIGH THE FED WILL
RAISE INTEREST RATES.
JUST SINCE THE LAST
INFLATIONARY REPORT A WEEK AGO,
EXPECTATIONS HAVE SURGED TO NOW
INCLUDE THE POSSIBILITY OF A 75
BASIS POINT HIKE BY THE FEDERAL
RESERVE.
MARKETS ARE RALLYING BECAUSE
THEY THINK THE FED WILL BE
AGGRESSIVE HERE.
I FIND IT REALLY ODD THAT THE
MARKETS ARE RALLYING GOING INTO
THIS FED MEETING BECAUSE THE
FED WILL BE AGGRESSIVE AND MAKE
THINGS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE FOR
ALL OF US AS BORROWING COSTS GO
HIGHER.
WE’LL SEE AN INTEREST RATE HIKE
TODAY.
THE QUESTION IS, WILL IT BE 50
OR 75 BASIS POINTS?
WHATEVER THE CASE, THE FED’S
GOAL HERE IS TO SLOW THINGS
DOWN.
WE ARE LOOKING AT AN ECONOMY
THAT IS SLOWING BUT WHEN YOU
LOOK AT THE MORTGAGE MARKET,
BILL, WE HAD NEW NUMBERS THIS
MORNING.
MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS WERE
SHOWING THAT THE RATE FOR
MORTGAGES IS NOW UP TO 5.65%
BUT EARLIER ON "MORNINGS WITH
MARIA" ON FOX BUSINESS I SPOKE
WITH SOMEONE FROM THE "WALL
STREET JOURNAL" AND HE SAID
LENDERS ARE SAYING THEY’RE OUT
THERE WITH A 6%, 6 1/4%
MORTGAGE RATE AND THAT THEY ARE
TALKING TO POTENTIAL MORTGAGE
HOLDERS AND BUYERS ABOUT.
SO MAKE NO MISTAKE, THESE KINDS
OF NUMBERS WILL SLOW DOWN THIS
ECONOMY.
QUESTION IS, WILL WE GO INTO
RECESSION SOONER RATHER THAN
LATER?
>> Bill: PRESIDENT BIDEN
YESTERDAY BLAMED REPUBLICANS
FOR NOT PASSING HIS LARGE
SPENDING.
HE BLAMED REPUBLICANS IN
WASHINGTON EVEN THOUGH
DEMOCRATS CONTROL THE SENATE,
HOUSE AND WHITE HOUSE.
AND THEN HE SAID THIS ABOUT THE
SUCCESS HE HAS HAD.
AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
>> President Biden: UNDER MY
PLAN FOR THE ECONOMY WE MADE
EXTRAORDINARY PROGRESS AND PUT
AMERICA IN A POSITION TO TACKLE
A WORLDWIDE PROBLEM THAT’S
WORSE EVERYWHERE BUT HERE,
INFLATION.
>> Bill: THAT WAS THE COMMENT.
HERE ARE THE NUMBERS RIGHT NOW.
THE U.S. WE HAVE 8.6%.
GERMANY 7.9.
INDIA 7, ITALY A TICK BELOW 7.
THAT STATEMENT DOESN’T APPEAR
TO EVEN BE FACTUAL, MARIA.
>> IT’S NOT FACTUAL.
UNFORTUNATELY THERE HAVE BEEN
QUITE A FEW FALSE STATEMENTS
COMING FROM THE PRESIDENT IN
THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
NOT JUST THAT BUT HE WROTE THE
OP-ED AND SAID THE U.S. ECONOMY
IS GROWING THE FASTEST IN THE
WORLD AND THE WORLD AND WROTE
IT IN HIS OP-ED.
THAT’S NOT TRUE, EITHER.
WE’RE IN A CONTRACTION.
THE ECONOMY CONTRACTED IN THE
FIRST QUARTER BY 1.5%.
WE’LL GET ANOTHER REVISION ON
THE FIRST QUARTER AND FOCUSED
ON THE SECOND QUARTER.
TWO QUARTERS OF RETRACTION IS
EQUIVALENT TO A RECESSION.
HOW BAD WILL THINGS GET?
YOU HAVE SOME LAWMAKERS
EXPECTING WE’LL SEE BLACK-OUTS
THIS SUMMER.
WE’LL SEE POWER OUTAGES BECAUSE
OF TOO MUCH PRESSURE ON THE
ELECTRICAL GRID.
THAT’S ONE ISSUE THAT WE’RE
WAITING TO WATCH.
THE OTHER ISSUE IS INFLATION.
HAVE WE PEAKED?
I SEE NO EVIDENCE OF INFLATION
HAVING PEAKED AND ONE ISSUE IS
AROUND THE COVID-19 RELIEF
PACKAGE WHICH WAS SIGNED INTO
LAW BY PRESIDENT BIDEN IN MARCH
OF 2021.
AT THAT TIME INFLATION WAS 1.4%.
WE’RE 8.6%.
WHY SHOULD INFLATION GET WORSE
FROM HERE?
BECAUSE MUCH OF THAT MONEY IN
THE COVID RELIEF PACKAGE HAS
NOT EVEN GONE OUT YET.
I SPOKE WITH THE RANKING MEMBER
OF THE HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE
JASON SMITH AND CONGRESSMAN
SMITH TOLD ME THERE ARE
HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
THAT CERTAIN STATES RECEIVED
FROM THE COVID PACKAGE THAT
HAVE NOT BEEN APPROPRIATED.
AS LONG AS ALL THAT MONEY IS
STILL CHASING TOO FEW GOODS
THAT’S THE DEFINITION OF
INFLATION AND WE’LL BE HOVERING
AROUND HERE FOR A WHILE IF NOT
GET WORSE BEFORE THINGS GET
BETTER.
ADD TO THAT GASOLINE.
WE HAVEN’T SEEN THE PEAK
DRIVING MONTHS.
WE’RE GETTING THERE.
ONCE WE SEE THE PEAK DRIVING
MONTHS YOU’LL SEE GASOLINE GO
HIGHER AS WELL.
ANOTHER ISSUE FOR CONSUMERS WHO
ARE FACING HIGHER COSTS ON JUST
ABOUT EVERYTHING.
>> Bill: WE’LL BE WATCHING AT
2:00 HOUR TODAY AND SEE WHAT