Equity markets are mildly in the red this morning after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates last night, although they weren’t overly hawkish in their outlook. This has led to subdued trading this morning.
Lonmin shares are up 22.7% after the company has agreed to a takeover by Sibanye-Stillwater for £285 million. The troubled miner had to raise funds from shareholders several times in recent years, and last month the company said it would delay publishing its full-year figures – which was a warnings in itself.
Capital Group shares are down 13.9% after the company stated the market was ‘subdued’. The company warned on profits several times last year and the business is clearly finding trading tough. The amount of work in the pipeline is down 19% from September, and while it doesn’t; look too bright, investors will steer clear.
EUR/USD was helped along by strong manufacturing reports from France and Germany. The two largest economies in Europe have seen sizeable increase in economic activity in recent months. The European Central Bank (ECB) is tipped to keep interest rates on hold at 12.45pm (UK time) and the press conference at 1.30pm (UK time) will be closely watched. The ECB’s loose monetary policy has spurred growth in the eurozone, so the central bank president, Mario Draghi, isn’t likely to say anything that will drive the euro higher.
GBP/USD was boosted by the strong retail sales from the UK today. The report for November showed a 1.6% increase on an annual basis, while the consensus was for a rise of just 0.3%. The surge in retail sales is a sign consumers are keen to spend, which is crucial for economic growth. The Bank of England are expected to keep UK rates on hold at their meeting at 12pm (UK time).
At 1.30pm (UK time) the US announces the latest retail sales figures, with a consensus for an increase of 0.3%, up from the 0.2% rise in October.
We are expecting the Dow Jones to open up 70 points at 24,655, and we are calling the S&P 500 up 5 points at 2667.
After non-member Sergey Komardinkin failed to answer the charges issued against him, on April 4, 2012, a Panel of the CME Business Conduct Committee (“Panel”) entered a default finding that between February 2008 and April 2008, Komardinkin received $11,937.50 in his personal account from money pass transactions executed by another in foreign exchange futures market on CME Globex Platform. In so doing, Komardinkin violated CME Rules (Legacy) 432.B. and 432.C.
Based on the record and the Panel’s findings and conclusions, the Panel issued the following sanctions against Sergey Komardinkin :
b. Direct or indirect access and use of any CME Group trading floor, electronic trading or clearing platform owned or operated by any CME Group Exchange; and
c. Affiliation with, employment by, or association with a broker association, guaranteed introducing broker, Member or affiliate of a Member registered with any CME Group exchange, trading platform or clearing platform.
Corporate governance is a priority for CMIS Group because it presents opportunities to excel in managing risks and add value through increased performance. Since proper governance is of vital importance to our stakeholders, CMIS Group has adopted voluntary compliance with the Dutch Governance Code where and when appropriate and applicable.
CMIS Group contributes to strengthening confidence in the financial markets and its own actions in these markets. It complies with the spirit and letter of the law and operates in accordance with the current rules of conduct in the financial sector and the formulated codes of conduct. We aim for a high level of reliability in all standards. The CMIS Group Integrity Policy is applicable to all entities within the group.
LOUISVILLE, Colo., March 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RGS Energy (Nasdaq:RGSE), one of the nation's largest and most recognized rooftop installers of solar equipment, has begun a process of reorganization and realignment under a new operational model designed to leverage core strengths while reducing non-core overhead.
"The foundation of our new operational model focuses on our core strengths of engineering, e-Sales, operations management and leasing," noted RGS Energy CEO, Dennis Lacey. "We expect this effort to streamline our operations and lower our fixed operating costs, as we leverage our recently strengthened financial position to address an over $50 million installation backlog."
RGS Energy will maintain a centralized engineering capability in its Louisville, Colorado headquarters, and will continue to maintain field sales and in-house construction teams on the East Coast. Most of the major changes will focus on its California operations, where it will replace its offices, warehouses, field sales and construction teams in California with greater utilization of call center e-Sales and the company's Authorized Integrator Program for solar installations. The company remains strongly committed to California, given the major opportunity, and believes it has a more efficient approach with the new operational model.
The company's reorganization will reduce employee headcount by 30% or 100 positions over the next few months. Severance, lease exit and the associated costs of the restructuring is expected to be between $140,000 and $240,000, with a non-cash impairment charge for leasehold improvements of approximately $70,000. The company expects to complete most of the restructuring in the current first quarter of 2015, with the completion and related charges subject to local labor regulations.
RGS Energy (Nasdaq:RGSE) is one of the nation's largest and most recognized rooftop installers of solar equipment, serving residential and small business customers in the mainland U.S. and Hawaii. Beginning with one of the very first photovoltaic panels sold in 1978, the company has installed tens of thousands of solar power systems. RGS Energy makes it very convenient for customers to save on their energy bill by providing a comprehensive solar solution, from design, financing, permitting and installation to ongoing monitoring, maintenance and support.
For more information, visit RGSEnergy.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rgsenergy and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rgsenergy. RGS Energy is a trade name and RGS Energy makes filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission under its official name "Real Goods Solar, Inc." These documents are available on both the EDGAR section of the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.rgsenergy.com. For more information about the company, visit www.rgsenergy.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they provide our current beliefs, expectations, assumptions and forecasts about future events, and include statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, budgets, projected costs, plans and objectives of management for future operations. The words "expect," "will" and similar expressions as they relate to us are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the following: our ability to successfully complete the reorganization and realignment discussed in this press release, our ability to reduce overhead and operational costs as a result thereof, our ability to convert backlog into revenue, the costs associated with the reorganization and realignment discussed in this press release and such other factors as discussed in the documents that RGS Energy has filed with the SEC.
SUNBEAM Phase 3 Trial of Ozanimod in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Continues to Enroll According to Plan; Overall Phase 3 Program on Track to be Completed in 1H 2017
SAN DIEGO, April 1, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Receptos, Inc. (Nasdaq:RCPT) announced today that the Company has completed enrollment in the RADIANCE Phase 3 trial of ozanimod (formerly RPC1063) in patients with Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (RMS). The trial was over-enrolled by approximately 10% due to strong interest among investigators and patients. The Company is continuing to enroll the SUNBEAM trial of ozanimod in patients with RMS. Receptos is on track to complete this Phase 3 clinical development program in the first half of 2017.
"Completing enrollment of the RADIANCE trial represents another major corporate milestone for Receptos, and positions ozanimod as the potential next-to-market oral agent for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis," said Faheem Hasnain, President and Chief Executive Officer of Receptos. "Following positive Phase 2 results in ulcerative colitis, we also plan to initiate a Phase 3 program for ozanimod in inflammatory bowel disease in 2015. We believe that ozanimod represents a potential franchise in immunology, and we continue to explore opportunities in other therapeutic indications where there is strong scientific rationale."
The announcement follows the disclosure in September 2014 of the detailed Phase 2 results of ozanimod in RMS. In that trial, ozanimod met the primary endpoint of reduction in MRI brain lesion activity as well as secondary endpoints measuring effects on other MRI parameters. The overall safety profile of ozanimod was consistent with the results of prior trials and continues to be differentiated from other oral agents for the treatment of RMS.
The RADIANCE and SUNBEAM Phase 3 trials each are randomized, double-blind studies designed to compare 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg of ozanimod against interferon beta-1a (Avonex®) in 1,200 patients with RMS. The primary objectives of the RADIANCE and SUNBEAM trials are to assess whether ozanimod is superior to Avonex® in reducing the annualized relapse rate in patients after two years of therapy and one year of therapy, respectively. Both trials are being conducted under Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreements with the FDA.
Receptos had $671.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and short term investments as of December 31, 2014, leaving it well capitalized to continue advancing its clinical development programs.
Ozanimod (formerly RPC1063) is a novel, oral, once daily, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate 1 and 5 receptor modulator in development for autoimmune indications including relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) and ulcerative colitis (UC). In a Phase 2 trial in patients with RMS, ozanimod achieved the primary endpoint of reduction in MRI brain lesion activity as well as secondary endpoints measuring effects on other MRI parameters. The overall safety profile of ozanimod was consistent with the results of prior trials and continues to demonstrate differentiation against other oral agents for treatment of RMS. Receptos is now conducting a Phase 3 clinical development program comprised of two trials: RADIANCE and SUNBEAM, both of which are randomized, double-blind studies designed to compare 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg of ozanimod against interferon beta-1a (Avonex®) in patients with RMS.
Ozanimod is also being studied in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The TOUCHSTONE Phase 2 trial of ozanimod in UC met its primary endpoint and all secondary endpoints with statistical significance in patients on the 1.0 mg dose of ozanimod in the 8-week induction period. The overall safety and tolerability profile of ozanimod was consistent with the results of the recent Phase 2 trial in RMS, and continues to support the potential for orally administered ozanimod to significantly improve the treatment paradigm for UC patients. The maintenance period of the TOUCHSTONE trial is currently ongoing. Receptos plans to initiate a Phase 3 program in UC and a Phase 2 program in Crohn's disease in 2015.
Receptos is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic candidates for the treatment of immune and metabolic diseases. The Company's lead program, ozanimod, is a sphingosine 1-phosphate 1 and 5 receptor small molecule modulator in development for immune indications including RMS and IBD. Patents supporting ozanimod were exclusively licensed to Receptos from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). The Company is also developing RPC4046, an anti-interleukin-13 (IL-13) antibody for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), an allergic/immune-mediated orphan disease.
Statements contained in this release, other than statements of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "may," "intends," "plans," "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements, include without limitation, statements regarding the sufficiency of the Company's capital to fund its future operations, the ability of the Company to successfully undertake certain development activities (such as clinical trial enrollment and the conduct of clinical trials) and accomplish certain development goals (such as the completion of clinical trials and availability of clinical trial results), and the safety, efficacy, projected development timeline and therapeutic and commercial potential for ozanimod, RPC4046 and the GLP-1 positive allosteric modulator program. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include without limitation risks associated with the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drug candidates that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics. These and other risks regarding the Company's financial position and research and development programs are described in detail in the Company's SEC filings, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. All forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date on which they were first made by the Company, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after such date.
Cisco Systems: "My charitable trust has a big position ... Cisco's business is good. I like that acquisition that Chuck Robbins [CEO] did last week that he came on Squawk about. That stock is a buy."
United States Steel Corporation: "In the end I've got to default to best-of-breed. The best-of-breed is Nucor, even though it doesn't necessarily have those business lines. If you want a steel stock, I have never gone wrong recommending Nucor since 1985. You think I'm going to change my stripes now? No."
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan: "I am a believer in the ag [agriculture] complex. What can I say? If I like Deere, and you know I do. If I like Agco, and you know I do. Then I have to like Mosaic, Agrium and yes, Potash."
Weyerhaeuser: "I like that yield and I like the business. I think the stock is a buy. I like the wood and paper complex entirely."
Ingenico Group (Euronext: FR0000125346 - ING), the global leader in seamless payment, announced today it has completed the acquisition of 100% of TechProcess Payment Services Ltd, a leading Indian online and mobile payments provider from its current shareholders (major global and Indian investors).
This acquisition strengthens Ingenico Group's position in India, where it is the leader on the terminal market with c.50% market shares and a player in online payments through EBS, an Ingenico ePayments entity.
President Trump has demanded that the House of Representatives vote on the Republican health care bill Friday, even though he doesn't have the votes lined up.
If the vote is taken and the bill goes down, it will be a tremendous political embarrassment to the new administration. But if this gambit works, it will be remembered as a bold legislative play that paid off — albeit in the service of a deeply flawed and extremely unpopular bill that may never get out of the Senate.
Whatever happens, it's worth noting that this is a deeply unusual legislative strategy. The usual practice for big, controversial bills like this is for congressional leaders to ensure they have votes in hand — or at least really close to in hand — before actually taking the vote.
Then when leaders are confident they have or are close to getting juuust enough votes to get the bill through, they actually hold the vote. Nancy Pelosi, for one, was a master of this strategy during her speakership, which resulted in several very narrow House victories on top Obama agenda items in his first two years.
This practice is the norm in part because it's simply embarrassing for a leader and a president to bring up a bill and have it fail.
More broadly, though, it's done because party leaders generally want to protect their party members, and particularly their members in swing districts, from casting tough votes unless it's totally necessary.
Voting for an intensely controversial bill like the American Health Care Act is politically painful, particularly for members of Congress in vulnerable districts. These votes can be used against them in attack ads and hurt their reelection campaigns.
Still, if members of Congress take a tough vote and the bill becomes law, at least they've achieved something. The worst outcome for a leader, though, is if you force your members to take a tough vote and then the bill fails anyway. Then you've forced them to stick their necks out for no benefit, and made them more vulnerable to attacks in the next election.
This is exactly what happened in 1993 when House Democrats voted to pass Bill Clinton's "BTU tax" on energy, a bill that died in the Senate. And even Pelosi let it happen once in 2009, when a fair number of Democrats in vulnerable districts voted for a cap-and-trade bill that, again, died in the Senate.
In both cases, many of those Democrats then lost their seats — and their party lost the House — in the next midterm election. ("Getting BTUed" briefly became a fairly common phrase on the Hill.) And both of those bills at least got through the House; casting a vote for an unpopular proposal that ends up failing in the House seems like even more pointless.
Savvy party leaders want to avoid that bad outcome, so they generally try to only hold a tough vote if they're confident they can get the bill across the finish line, at least in their chamber.
Harvard professors David King and Richard Zeckhauser demonstrated this with a clever 2003 paper that shows that on controversial congressional votes, "small victories" are a far more common result than "small defeats." That's in large part because if leaders figure out advance that they're headed to a narrow defeat on a vote, they preempt that outcome by not holding the vote at all (until they can line up more votes, at least).
Trump, however, has demanded that the House vote on the AHCA even though he's not sure if it can pass. He's probably taking this approach for a few reasons.
First, Trump sees himself as a savvy negotiator and dealmaker willing to employ bold stratagems. Here, he sees himself as calling holdout conservatives' bluff. (Maybe he's right!)
Second, as a businessman and Washington outsider, Trump has never actually governed before. As a result, he simply may not be all that familiar with legislative leaders' dynamics on close votes. (A piece by Axios's Jonathan Swan provided some evidence for this, claiming that congressional GOP leaders fear "the vote will collapse" if they don't line up the votes in advance, while the White House is more optimistic.)
Third, Trump may not care all that much about trying to protect Republican members of Congress. He himself came up as an outsider in the party, and hardly any members of Congress endorsed him. He may naturally have little loyalty to the party as a result. (Though he may live to regret it if Republicans lose the House.)
Fourth, the president doesn't seem to care all that much about health reform in particular. It wasn't his top priority during the campaign, and people close to him are already leaking to the New York Times's Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman that he regrets agreeing to put it ahead of tax reform on the agenda. If it fails, he may think, So what?
Finally, Trump is vindictive and legendarily holds on to grudges. Rather than try to make GOP members of Congress more comfortable, he may want to force them to take a clear stand for or against him — so, perhaps, he can retaliate against those who remain defiant.
When it comes to the time it takes for the market to forgive a company like Wells Fargo for its past transgressions, Jim Cramer says the big bank is not unlike one food chain that also paid its dues.
"My suggestion if you own Wells Fargo, as my charitable trust does? Sorry, but it does take 18 months – kind of Chipotle-like – for the American public to truly forgive. Remember, Wells Fargo's the Chipotle of banking, so don't get too excited because the company's got about a year left in purgatory," the "Mad Money" host explained.
Still, after seeing the stock of Wells Fargo, and a slew of other lesser-known names, rise on Thursday, Cramer was comforted that the rally was broader than many investors seemed to think.
"The rap against this market was that it was all FANG all the time, with a smattering of cloud and some Tesla," Cramer said. Today, the rally got broader, much broader, and that has to make you feel a little more confident that stocks can keep going higher, even after this year's first five months of positive returns."
Turning to tech, Cramer spoke with Veeva Systems founder and CEO Peter Gassner, who told the "Mad Money" host that his cloud computing company, which serves the life sciences space, has plans to grow its $7 billion addressable market.
"We're always expanding our market, and I also think when you have a really good-quality system, a really good-quality technology that really fits the need, you expand the market," Gassner said.
The CEO touted the company's latest quarter, which he dubbed a "30-30 quarter" because the company grew both revenues and profits by over 30 percent.
And although the cloud seems hot now, Gassner said that the breakthrough industry is just getting started.
"We're in the early days of cloud overall. This is a macro-level trend of computing that's going to play out over the next 20, 30 years," the CEO said.
Then, after cloud application provider Workday reported a strong quarter, CEO Aneel Bhusri gave Cramer a simple reason why companies are choosing his software platform over larger rivals like SAP and Oracle.
"It all comes back to having a great product and taking care of customers," Bhusri told Cramer on Thursday. "Where I think we've really carved out our success has been at the high end of the enterprise, these very large companies where we're really the only proven solution in the marketplace."
A recent Goldman Sachs survey of CIOs showed that IT professionals are turning to Workday at the expense of Oracle and SAP.
Bhusri said that with a customer satisfaction rate of roughly 97 percent, it is not hard to see how that factors in to the financial and human capital management company's gain in market share.
President Donald Trump announces his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Accords in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 1, 2017.
People may be up in arms about President Donald Trump's decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, but Jim Cramer sees one glaring problem.
"There's only so much any president can do unilaterally," the "Mad Money" host said. "While Trump supporters may cheer that he made good on a promise to pull out of the agreement, something he campaigned on, there's another part of his agenda that seems to have gone fallow that we care about here. Tax reform. It's fallen by the wayside because it requires the cooperation of Congress. And, at least right now, it almost feels like the White House has given up on Congress."
In fact, what Cramer called Washington's "legislative logjam" has thrown a wrench into a number of pro-business policies the Trump administration vowed to enact, including corporate tax reform, repatriation of cash from overseas, and health care reform.
Finally, Cramer sat down with Robert Workman, the president and CEO of Now Inc., also known as DistributionNOW, an international oil and gas distribution company.
Looking ahead at the oil industry's future, Workman predicted that relations between shale producers and OPEC would stay frigid for some time.
"My theory of this is pretty simple: I think it's going to be shaky waters between shale producers and OPEC for a while. Maybe in three, four, five quarters more, you'll find people who think it's not going to last that long," the CEO told Cramer on Thursday.
That said, after a major downturn in the oil patch, Workman's company has turned around, deploying some $750 million in capital, acquiring 12 companies, and chasing profitability, something the CEO said could happen this quarter if Canadian business serves.
"We originally felt like we could get to profitability, from EBITDA perspective, by Q3," Workman told Cramer. "Depending on how this breakup is in Canada … if it's not as strong of a breakup as past years, there's a chance we get to positive EBITDA this quarter."
Radian Group: "OK, there are two Philadelphia home stocks, there's Radian and there's Toll Brothers. I prefer Toll Brothers."
U.S. Silica Holdings: "Yeah, that's a commodity play. We're not sand guys. It's just not ours. Not for us."
United's revenue for each seat it flew a mile rose 0.2 percent, up from a previous forecast of no growth year over year.
The company's shares are up more than 15 percent this year but fell during the airline's investor call on Tuesday.
United Continental Holdings, the parent of United Airlines, posted earnings Tuesday that outpaced analyst estimates. But shares plunged in post-market trading during a long-awaited investor presentation in which the airline unveiled a strategy to add more seats to the market while keeping a lid on costs.
The presentation was a chance for CEO Oscar Munoz and other top United brass to impress investors, who had dumped shares after executives on a tense earnings call last quarter gave a fuzzy picture of its costs and other metrics for 2018.
The company did post better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of 2017: $1.40 per share on an adjusted basis. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of $1.34 per share.
The airline has struggled to increase the amount of revenue it brings in for each seat it flies a mile, a key industry metric. But this rose 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period, slightly beating a previous forecast of flat per-seat revenue.
United said its fourth-quarter revenue totaled $9.44 billion, up 4.3 percent on the year and higher than Wall Street forecasts of $9.42 billion.
Like its competitors, United is facing higher jet-fuel bills, as the cost of oil climbs. In the fourth quarter, its fuel costs rose 18 percent from a year earlier to $1.89 a gallon.
But during the investor presentation, shares fell more than 6 percent in post-market trading, as the airline forecast a 4 percent to 6 percent growth in capacity. Strong growth in seat counts coupled with modest increases in revenue could challenge United just as it faces higher costs, such as fuel.
"I hate to be critical two earnings calls in a row here," said Brandon Oglenski, a transportation analyst at Barclays. "A lot of folks won't buy your stock because the belief is we're on a long-term trajectory to just dilute margins and take profits right back to break even."
Oglenski said the plan might make the airline perform worse than competitors "in what is a very robust economy."
Munoz responded that the airline is "very confident and focused" on keeping costs down and that "we don't ... provide numbers that are may be too high and we lose confidence."
The airline forecast earnings per share of between $6.50 and $8.50 for 2018. For comparison, it posted $7.02 a share in 2017.
"Just so we're clear, the number is 8.50 on that chart on the far range of EPS is the correct number," Munoz said.
United unveiled other initiatives to increase revenue, including expanding its no-frills basic economy class and allowing those passengers to pay to select their seats. It is also introducing a premium economy class, which offers travelers a larger seat, more legroom, an amenities kit and other perks.
To cut costs, the airline even started printing its in-flight magazine, Hemispheres, on different paper to make it one ounce lighter, allowing United to save 170,000 gallons of fuel a year, or $290,000 at current fuel prices, according to a recent note to employees. It also told employees that it has eliminated duty-free products and reduced the amount of orange juice it carries on board for some flights.
A sunnier revenue forecast from United earlier in January encouraged investors to change their tune about the company's stock. United shares rose more than 15 percent this year as of Tuesday's close, more than U.S. rivals Delta and American. United shares fell more than 7 percent last year, while the stock of its larger competitors rose.
The U.S. has it make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that there are lines that the U.S. will not allow Russia to cross, says Leon Panetta.
The United States has to make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that there are lines that the U.S. will not allow Russia to cross, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CNBC on Tuesday.
"There's no question we're in a new chapter of the Cold War with Russia," Panetta said on "Closing Bell."
"There are an awful lot of steps that the Russians are taking to be very aggressive," he said. "Part of it is because they've read weakness into the United States, as well as our allies."
Tensions have been escalating between the West and Russia over the civil war in Syria. Last Friday, a U.S.-led airstrike targeted Syria's chemical weapons infrastructure. It came one week after an alleged chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar Assad that killed at least 60 people.
Putin, who supports Assad's government, warned Sunday that further Western attacks on Syria would bring chaos to world affairs.
Russia's involvement in Syria is just the country's latest act of aggression, suggested Panetta, who also served as CIA director under President Barack Obama and as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.
Russia came under fire for annexing Crimea in southern Ukraine and is accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In a March interview with NBC News, Putin denied U.S. charges that he was behind the interference in the election which resulted in Donald Trump becoming president.
Panetta believes the U.S. needs to show its power, which could open up an opportunity to have discussions with Putin.
On Sunday, Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said new sanctions were coming to punish Russia for its support of Assad's government. However, on Monday, Trump delayed further action, Reuters reported.
"I think the issue here is we have a set of sanctions and additional sanctions are under consideration but have not been determined," Kudlow, a former CNBC senior contributor, told reporters on Tuesday.
The FMHR traders debate whether Green Mountain still has room to run. And, how to trade stocks hitting new highs in the S&P 500. Also, discussing whether investors should bet on a higher bid on Dell.
CNBC's Bronmyn Nielsen recaps the Davos seminar on Africa and how the panel debated the future for the continent's current billion people and how to prepare for the next billion.
Blue Jeans Network's cloud-based interactive video events service Primetime allowed virtual attendees around the world to participate in two events at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Participants could "virtually" raise their hand to ask questions.