Squawk Pod: Kevin Hassett on tariffs & Ken Burns on the American Revolution - 11/17/25

Market Trends & Investment Opportunities - Bitcoin experienced volatility, falling approximately 8% between the previous Monday and Friday, dipping under $95,000 over the weekend, and sitting at about $95,570 on Monday morning [1] - Berkshire Hathaway took a nearly 18 million share position in Google parent Alphabet, worth roughly $5 billion [1] - The market is closely watching Nvidia's third-quarter results, which are due after the bell on Wednesday [1] - Key retail results are expected from Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, and Walmart [1] - Saudi Arabia has pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in US investments [1] Economic Policy & Impact - President Trump is cutting tariffs on over 200 food products, including coffee, beef, bananas, and tomatoes, as certain foods could be exempt from tariffs since they're not grown or processed in the US [1][2] - The administration is working on plans to address voter frustrations over the cost of living, potentially including striking more deals with pharmaceutical companies and greenlighting more offshore drilling [3] Financial Analysis & Risk Assessment - A bond investor is recommending a 20% cash position to hedge against a severe market downturn, citing concerns in the private credit market, which is close to $2 trillion [3] - RBC Capital indicates a plain old-fashioned valuation problem, with AI stocks carrying the weight of the market, but there is still a tremendous amount of jitters around those AI stocks [1][3] - Margin debt is hitting a record high, which in the past has correlated with S&P consolidations [5] Economic Outlook & Labor Market - The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the shutdown-delayed September jobs report on Thursday [1] - There could be a quiet time in the labor market because firms are finding that AI is making their workers so productive that they don't necessarily have to hire the new kids out of college [4]