In short
Squawk Pod Episode Summary: 5 Things to Know Before the Opening Bell (12/22/2025)
Podcast Overview Squawk Pod is a daily podcast that curates the top moments and insights from CNBC's morning show, Squawk Box, featuring hosts Joe Kernen, Becky Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin. The episodes include interviews, analyses, and discussions filled with context and color from Senior Producer Katie Kramer.
Episode Highlights Key Updates
- Waymo's Service Resumption
- Alphabet's autonomous taxi service, Waymo, resumed operations in San Francisco after a disruption due to a city blackout.
- Social media revealed videos of Waymo vehicles stalled in traffic during the blackout.
- Clearwater Analytics Acquisition
- Private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus have finalized an agreement to acquire Clearwater Analytics, a provider of investment software, for approximately $8.4 billion.
- Avatar Franchise Box Office Performance
- The latest installment in James Cameron's Avatar series underperformed at the U.S. box office, earning $88 million in its opening weekend.
- This figure fell short of analysts' expectations, which were between $110 million to $125 million.
- Powerball Jackpot Announcement
- The Powerball jackpot is set to be one of the largest ever, estimated at $1.6 billion due to no winners matching all six numbers in the previous drawing.
- SoftBank's Funding Commitment to OpenAI
- SoftBank is working to secure more than $22 billion in funding for OpenAI by year-end.
- Strategies include raising cash through various means, potentially leveraging margin loans against its stake in Arm Holdings.
Conclusion
- The episode provides crucial updates on technology, entertainment, and financial markets, highlighting significant corporate developments and the entertainment industry's performance before the holiday season.
- Listeners are encouraged to tune in later for more insights and discussions in the next installment of Squawk Pod.
Additional Information
- Hosts: Joe Kernen, Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin
- Production: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company
- Availability: Listen to Squawk Pod wherever podcasts are available.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:01Hi, I'm Joe Kernan, co-host of Squawk Box, and this is five things to know before today's opening bell. Alphabet's driverless taxi company Waymo says service is back now in San Francisco following a pause on Saturday that took place during a blackout that hit that city. Videos shared on social media appear to show multiple Waymo vehicles stalled in traffic and blocking some intersection. Private equity firms including Permira and Warburg Pincus reaching a deal to buy investment software provider Clearwater Analytics for about$8.4 billion. In the third installment of James Cameron's Avatar franchise disappointing at the U.S.
0:46box office in its opening weekend, the film earned$88 million, well below the$110 million to$125 million that analysts were expecting. And tonight's Powerball jackpot slated to be one of the biggest ever. No one matched all six numbers on Saturday, so tonight's drawing worth about$1.6 billion. And SoftBank is working to close a more than$22 billion funding commitment to OpenAI by the end of the year. Reuters reports that the Japanese conglomerate is raising cash via a number of avenues and could tap margin loans borrowed against its stake in chip design firm Arm Holdings. We'll be back later today with an all-new Squawk Pod, our daily podcast featuring the best of Squawk Box.
1:34Check it out wherever you get your podcasts and listen anytime.
From the publisher
Waymo is back online in San Francisco after a service disruption during a city blackout, private equity firms Permira and Warburg have agreed to buy Clearwater Analytics in an $8.4B deal, the third installment of Avatar disappointed at the box office over the weekend, tonight’s Powerball jackpot is slated to be one of the biggest ever, and Softbank is working to close a $22B+ funding commitment to OpenAI before the end of the year.
Squawk Box is hosted by Joe Kernen, Becky Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Follow Squawk Pod for the best moments, interviews and analysis from our TV show in an audio-first format.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
