Dr. John Rutledge: Far from Equilibrium Economics, Finance and Investing

Summary: I met and talked with CNBC’s Natasha Turak in Abu Dhabi about the Aramco IPO. The stock’s launch on the Saudi stock exchange was the hot topic at the SALT conference there. The interesting day, however, will come in early 2020 when it is listed in New York or London where disinterested global investors will give the price their stamp of approval. You can see Natasha’s column on our discussion by clicking here. 

Aramco’s record-breaking IPO is ‘not exactly a free market price,’ investor says.

KEY POINTS:

• Shares went up to the maximum allowed for the world’s largest-ever IPO at its launch, surging 10% on Wednesday and again on Thursday to briefly hit a valuation of $2 trillion before paring gains.
• Weak international interest and suspicions of heavily government-influenced local demand have raised the question of how genuinely successful the public listing really is.

JR

Summary: Usually, I work the shows as a head-in-the-box from a remote studio in California. Today, I got to work on set in New York with my old friends at Squawk Box today. It’s way more fun to be at the desk with them, even at the cost of a redeye flight that landed at 5AM for a 6AM hit. You can see a brief video clip of the interview by clicking here.

Investors should remain calm and not overreact to trade war headlines, says Clete Willems

John Rutledge, Safanad CIO, and Clete Willems, Akin Gump, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss the current tensions between the U.S. and China.

JR