SOTS 2nd Hour: Bank of America CEO on Earnings, Apollo CEO and Treasury Sec. Bessent on Private Credit, Overinvestment in Data Centers? 4/15/26

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David Faber (1:03)

Wednesday morning, welcome to Squawk on the Street. I'm David Faber with Leslie Picker. We're live from Post9 at the New York Stock Exchange. Sara's hosting CNBC's Invest in America Forum. That is going on right now in Washington, DC. Carl has the morning off. Coming up this hour, first on CNBC Interview with Bank of America's CEO, Brian Moynihan. This after the company topped earnings estimates, citing a resilient American economy.

We'll also be joined by Apollo's Torsten Slock as the S&P 500 erases all of those losses that took place as the war with Iran raged. We're going to, of course, talk about the longer economic impacts of that war, and we'll have a lot more from our Invest in America Forum as well, including new comments from the Treasury Secretary and that man on the right, who runs Apollo, the large alternative asset manager, with a very large insurer as well, that Leslie covers pretty closely.

Leslie Picker (1:58)

As do you, David. Looking forward to those comments. But first, housing data out just moments ago. Rick Santelli has that for us. Hey, Rick.

Rick Santelli (2:07)

Yes, indeed, Leslie. This is an April reading. That's an Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index. We're expecting a number around 37 And do remember, for most of March and part of April, interest rates were going up. Only recently have they reversed, probably not caught in the survey. So it comes in weaker at 34 Yes, 34 in the rear view mirror is 38 So we didn't, best expectations were lower and were lower than what we were last month. And what's notable here is that this is the weakest sentiment going back to SEP of 25 when it was 32 And that 32 read was the lowest since April of 2020 COVID affected. It hasn't been above 40 since FEB of 25 So it has remained weak. Weakening up from last month is no surprise. Many believe, including myself, that the drop in interest rates will potentially make our nest look a little bit better, all things being equal. And do think that it's not only interest rates, builders already have issues. And as the Wall Street Journal pointed out, maybe you're getting some cheaper windows and moldings to try to keep the affordability factor more in line with what investors and consumers can afford. Lesley, back to you.

Leslie Picker (3:24)

Yeah, take what they can get, Rick. Appreciate it, Rick Santelli, for us. Let's turn now to the latest in Iran and new comments from President Trump. Megan Casella joins us from Washington. Megan.

Megan Casella (3:34)

Good morning, guys. So President Trump this morning saying that he views the war with Iran as, quote, very close to over. He says he believes oil prices will drop once the war ends and that he thinks it can be over very soon. Those comments came, guys, during a Fox Business interview where the president also repeated threats to target Iran's infrastructure. He said he could take out all of their power plants within an hour. But he also talked about a new regime in Iran that he called pretty reasonable. All of this now coming amid a number of reports about a potential second round of US-Iran talks and a possible ceasefire extension. A senior US official this morning tells me that the United States has not formally agreed to an extension of the ceasefire, but that there is continued engagement between the two sides to reach a deal. The White House also says that more talks are under discussion, but they say nothing has been finalized yet.

Then guys, shifting gears here to a separate topic. The president also made news during that Fox interview on the Federal Reserve. He renewed threats to fire Fed Chair Jay Powell. This came in response to a question about the criminal investigation into the Fed's renovations, which of course is threatening to delay Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh to be Powell's successor. Trump said he would not be dropping the probe and that if Powell doesn't leave his seat on time, quote, then I'll have to fire him. He added that he's held back on firing Powell. He says, I've wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial. Guys, as you know, Powell's chairmanship ends a month from today on May 15th. But past precedent suggests that he can stay on his chair temporarily until his successor is confirmed. His seat on the board though, that's set to last until January of 2028 Guys.