$50 million in the los angeles area. we will get reactions and analysis from our roundtable. bloomberg sports reporter is with us when new york. andy dollars is in san francisco. we are joined by the former executive director of the nba players association. been coveringe this story and we are talking about the economics of this. we are seeing sponsors dropping by the wayside. was this unexpected? >> not unexpected. there are two levels to this whole controversy. backlash about the comments that sterling allegedly made and then there has been the financial aspect. another aide have said that they will wait and see what happens, putting things on pause. bad,nly were the comments it is also hurting the bottom line of the team and maybe the nba. as an just spoke about the bottom line here. what kind of damage control does a professional sports team have to go through when something like this hits? >> this isn't just the la clippers, this is the nba, a global brand. racism is radioactive, no matter what adam silver says in the coming months. you just don't pour concrete on this and make it go away. they need to firewall donald sterling and his horrific comments away from the lead as soon as possible so that they can get back to the business of playing basketball. firewall they comments? >> they have to terminate his relationship either through an indefinite suspension. hopefully that would be part of a long-term process that would terminate his franchise. >> a nuclear option? >> absolutely. this is clearly not good for business. they love to make it clear to the sponsors and the fans that his attitudes are not pervasive throughout the nba. >> the contagion like affect, this is not just about the los angeles clippers, you are talking about a professional sports league in the united states of america. the majority of the athletes are african-american. >> 76% of the players are african-american. this is a $5.5 billion business. that is the and be a revenue this year. there's a lot of money at stake. regardless of what happens today from the nba and what silver says, there will be a long-term push. >> mr. dulles, talk to me about the economics of controversy. what does this do not just to a franchise and to a leak but what does it do to a fan base? is interconnected. your fan base, your broadcasters, ownership, and most importantly, the players. the significant role that chris paul and kevin johnson are playing will show there is a unified effort to move forward. the real key is that we are able to talk about this because it is sports and i think the most positive moment to come forth is to talk about racism, to talk about mistakes, and how you resolve them for a younger generation that loves this game. you have a lot of leaders, you have a great debate which has been a firestorm that we'll get to a better place because of this. >> how much pressure is the commissioner under? he has only been commissioner for a couple of months. under tremendous pressure. >> he is not just speaking to the nba, he is speaking to the nation. >> when the president brings this into the conversation, it is time to question. these guys will be measured, the owners will be measured by how they behave in this instance. >> some of the sports stories that are seen here, they have mentioned what happened in major league baseball 30 years ago when the owner of the reds made some comments. we spoke to fay vincent who was the commissioner. there was a consensus among ownership that at some point there is a line and you are so far past the line we can even see the line anymore. she had to go. >> absolutely. we could be waiting into even more unprecedented territory. the nba has never forcibly removed an owner. one who hase only been recommended when he circumvented the salary cap. the nba has ever had to deal with anything on this scale. they have been other owners like in baseball that have been forced out under economic pressure. this is kind of an territory for the nba. had to dealnever with something this large in his 30 years as a commissioner. >> you mentioned commissioner stern, let me ask both of you 'sat happens, mr. sterling this,d comments, according to all reports come as part of a pattern, this is something that people saying was not just something that was blurted out, they are saying this is part of the man's makeup going back 20 or 30 years. why was he allowed to be an owner of an nba franchise. >> you have to go to the court and that established way back in 1993. so, with that dismiss presence, very good. clearly, they were interested in purchasing the team sports and they were not that many. mr. sterling stepped in. the core of that relationship was one of trust and that trust clearly has been damaged tremendously. you answered that because it is something i'm looking at from adam silver when he speaks today. asked that.you there are race-based sexual harassment lawsuits, housing lawsuits. when this broke, a lot of people around the nba and outside said they were not particularly surprised. i'm curious to hear adam silver address the fact that this is a guy who had a reputation for this who still was around. >> we are waiting the news conference, the milken conference is underway in los angeles. makers"ors of "market are standing by with a special guest. >> it is a special guest indeed. we are here at the global conference with reverend jesse jackson. anyoned be hard to find who was taken more of a leadership role in race issues in this country then you. what does the nba need to do? >> famous strip him, not suspend him. he is injuring too many people. injuring the global brand of the nba. he puts all of the owners on the spot. the players feel humidity related. he is embarrassing the play for the clippers. players are withdrawing. about advertising and the fan base. he has to go. what he could do to be graceful would be to resign and put the team on the market. >> he cannot keep the team. in your opinion, there is nothing that he can do to salvage the situation? an apology, even if it were a sincere and heartfelt apology, some effort made to restore his relationship with the players, the fans.ivers, with >> he is not sought to apologize. he has offered no contrition. the language he has used. what it really shows is that there is such a high tolerance level about racist conduct. it opens up, opportunities for blacks. it is a business opportunity. >> is there an awful silver lining here? that this terrible thing happened but we got to hear what this man really thinks and now action can be taken. >> action can be taken but it is not just him. there is a wind blowing, the rancher who was staring down our government said last week that blacks and slaves and picking cotton and all of that. then you have the case of the supreme court ruling against banning affirmative action. the kind of personal attacks upon the president, he is not american, he was not born here. backlash tortain civil rights and social justice. he cannot tolerate without standing up as a nation. >> specifically with reference to the sterling and clippers case, i'm not expert on the clippers, the nba and certainly not on donald sterling but i've been told that donald sterling's people wereut black well known. how is it that this was allowed to happen if that is the case? how is it that the whole nation? this could have been brought to life so young ago? >> how are you going to bring it to light if you know someone is racist? of obviousthis level racial behavior to force everyone's hands? to sit behind not see prison war , we did tolerate that. >> then it is his girlfriend who supposedly set him up. is she a champion in terms of civil rights or she is despicable blackmailer because she set him up? >> well, it might be an intended consequence. so much good has come from the nba and the nfl and the mlb. you could not have the new south where you have the atlanta hawks and the charlotte bobcats behind the cotton curtain. he could not have had the dallas mavericks and the san antonio spurs had not civil rights pulled the walls down. so, we made so much progress against this. we cannot afford to have a virus in our culture. adam silver'ss if powers aren't great enough to achieve the and that you want? , the his extremity and opportunity for the people to stand up. if he does not strip him. >> that might not be an option for him. >> he has so much owner support. each owner now must figure out for his players to put them on the spot. now you have when, and asian, you have dirk levitsky. this is a great american moment. lin, you have no wiski. is staying with us of that we can hear what adam silver has to say. the investigation into the remarks by donald sterling. back to you in new york for the time being. we will be here. >> thank you so much. we are continuing our roundtable. i am joined by the bloomberg sports reporter joining me in the studio. the former golden state warrior's president joining us. we are also joined by the former a second of director of the nba players association. mr. dolich, my colleagues saying that sterling has to go. he should resign. >> i don't think that he is a resigning type of person. the kind of blowback that might be created based upon what the determines in the next few minutes will be the next chapter in this. but, the league is a cuisinart of color. it is a mobile brand. to explain tolike your son or daughter what is happening right now? this is one of those moments. >> sorry, i will interrupt you. the new commissioner adam silver is speaking here in new york. >> of a conversation that allegedly included clippers nbar donald sterling, the commenced an investigation. this included an interview of mr. sterling. that investigation is now complete. the central findings of the investigation are that the man whose voice is heard on the recordings and on the second recording from the same conversation that was released is mr. sterling. the hateful opinions voiced by that man are those of mr. sterling. the views expressed by mr. sterling are deeply offensive and harmful. ownerhey came from an nba only heightens the damage and my personal outrage. areiments of this kind contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse multicultural and multiethnic league. distraught that the views expressed by mr. within aname from institution that has a starkly taken such a leadership role in matters of race relations. current and former players, coaches, fans, and partners of the nba to question their very association with the league. them, and pioneers of the game, like earl lloyd, chuck cooper, sweetwater clifton, the great bill russell, and particularly magic johnson, i apologize. accordingly, effective immediately, i am banning mr. sterling for life from any association with the clippers .rganization or the nba mr. sterling may not attend any nba games or practices, he may not be present at any clippers facility and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. he will also be barred from attending and be a board of governors meetings or participating in any other league activity. sterling finding mr. $2.5 million, the maximum out a loud under the nba constitution. these funds will be donated to organizations dedicated to antidiscrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly and its by the nba players association. as for mr. sterling's ownership interest in the clippers, i will urge the board of governors to exercise its authority to force sale of the team and i will do everything in my power to ensure that happens. moments been a painful for all members of the nba family. i appreciate the supportive and understanding of our players during this process. i am particularly grateful for the leadership shown by coach doc rivers, the union president chris paul, and mayor kevin johnson in sacramento, who has been acting as the player's representative in this matter. together in condemning mr. sterling's views. they simply have no place in the nba. thank you and i will take any questions. >> do you or any of your emissaries have any clue as to whether mr. sterling will acquiesce or do you expect a fight? >> i have no idea. >> from polling the owners that you spoke to, what support do you have to force him to sell the team? >> i did not pull the owners, i spoke to several owners. i have therefore support. their full support. >> what kind of authority do they have to force a sale? >> they have the authority subject to three quarters vote of the ownership groups, of the partners to remove him as an owner. >> the word you used specifically was outrage. you said that you were personally outraged. any people believe that they are outraged that for years people had known that this man is a racist slumlord and the nba hasn't done anything until today. can you please answer why. >> i cannot speak to past actions other than to say that with specific evidence was brought to the nba, we acted. correction someone lose their team for marks shared and private? >> whether or not these were initially shared apartment, there are no public and they represent his views. >> follows a process incoming at this decision over the last couple of days and when did you decide that this was the appropriate action to take? >> openly decided this morning that this was the appropriate action and the process beginning saturday morning when this first tape was released was two point .nd investigator it was david anders. he conducted a series of interviews with some by phone, some in person and he concluded his investigation late last night. >> you said you would encourage owners to force the sale of the clippers, when will that action take place? >> the process will begin immediately, we will most likely use the standing committee of the nba or the equivalent of our executive committees, our advisory finance committee, i've had several discussions with glen taylor who is our chairman of the board and also the leader of the advisory committee and we will begin that process immediately. >> in your conversations with sterling, did he own up to this immediately? was it only after you had some kind of proof question mark what if anything has he expressed reposting remorse, regret, anything? >> mr. sterling acknowledged it was his voice on the tape and he has not expressed to me directly any other views. we will go right here. >> andrew rosario. do you have for the clippers and their fans and their fan base in terms of moving forward? >> my message to the clippers far is that the league is bigger than anyone owner, anyone coach, anyone player. this institution has been around for a long time and it will stand for a long time. i have complete confidence in doc rivers, in the basketball management of that club and the players deserve their support. >> on your left. >> was the punishment designed in fact to get the message across to mr. sterling that there is no point in him, there is no advantage, there is no -- there is nothing to be gained on this. also, in determining what the punishment would be including the suggestion to the board of governors. take into account the past behavior or was it done from this one incident? >> we did not take into account his past behavior. when the board ultimately considers his overall fitness to be an owner in the nba, they will take into account a lifetime of behavior. >> can you just explain or lay out what specific power in the constitutional -- in the constitution you exercised with your band? was it a broad violation question mark with respect to the sale, what specific section of the constitution covers that and was that a broad violation or a specific one? lawyers layt the out for you the specific provisions. we have the authority to act as i have recommended. the nba was considering more african-american ownership at this point? >> we are always open to ownership from people of all races, nationalities, ethnicities. we have an african-american primary owner in the league right now, shaquille o'neal just became a small owner of the secondment of kings. david robinson is an owner of the san antonio spurs. i believe we have a very diverse league but i would like to see it become even more diverse. >> what about magic johnson? is that an option? when's he knows he is always welcome in the league. he has been a part owner in the past of the los angeles lakers and he is always welcome and a close friend of the nba family. >> did you talk to any of the players before you came to this decision? what about clippers players, that they don't want to play for a team owned by donald sterling. do they have any recourse? >> i talked to several plays before rendering my decision. i had a trip planned for this weekend. i was in memphis for a game, then i was in oakland, then in portland. i had a chance to talk directly to chris paul. i spoke to other members of the team. i spoke extensively to doc rivers. devin johnson has been represented in the players interests. we have been talking several times a day. i believe the players will be satisfied with the decisions. the future in doesn't want to play for the los angeles clippers and he is under contract, we will deal with that it happens. it is not my sense of where we are right now. >> back on the left. >> would this situation cause you to put new rules in place for owners to the nba? >> i'm not sure. we are always willing to take a fresh look at our rules. appropriate have rules in place to cover a situation like this. >> with specific evidence was brought to the lead, you did act. in past cases, has donald forling ever been fined racial or offensive remarks? >> he is never been suspended or fined why the league. there have been well-documented rumors and cases fouled. he was sued will stop the plaintiff lost the lawsuit. there was a case brought by the department of justice. there was no finding of guilt. cases thathe only were brought to the attention. when those were brought, they were five closely by the new office. >> one of the greatest players of all time accused donald sterling running a plantation style franchise. they do not concern you? why was that not investigated. -- why was that not investigated? >> that concerned is very greatly. notmately, elgin did succeed in the litigation. and stately, carmax farm withdrew their sponsorship from the nba clippers. what would you tell other people who might be on the fence or people have -- you have to invest in the nba? >> they should judge us by our response to this incident. i think we responded appropriately and i would be hopeful that they would return and do their business relationships with the clippers. >> jason carroll. i'm wondering if you have spoken to mr. sterling about this ban. what has mr. sterling's reaction to the punishment? >> i did not speak to his representatives about this band. they were informed shortly before this press conference. i did not hear what the reaction was. has there been any decisions about whether the immediate members of his family including rochelle will be allowed to remain in an ownership or managerial position? >> no, there have been decisions about other members of the sterling family. applies on this conduct early. >> as you mentioned, over a dozen sponsors have dropped the clippers. what has been the financial ?mpact >> this is all happened in just three days. long-term damage to the league into the clippers organization. i understand other people's outrage. this will take some time. whether they be people who have affiliated against the nba or the clippers. i can understand how upset they i will do my best to bring them into the mva family. not tohe owners vote force the sale, can you institute a lifetime ban? >> a lifetime ban has been instituted, that is independent of force the sale of the team. >> can you share with the initial reaction was? >> when i first heard it, i was shocked. i was hoping somehow that it was fraudulent or that it had been doctored, that possibly it wasn't indeed donald sterling. i have known donna for over 20 years so i suspected it was his voice. immediately investigating, that was my reaction. let's get to the bottom of this. >> six on the right. mayor johnson has indicated he would like the league to under came -- undertake a full accounting of donald sterling's would you be able to meet out the personal views of other nba owners? >> as i said earlier, i have had many conversations with kevin johnson on and i am hoping that the actions that we take will satisfy our players. >> can you -- you said you have known him for 20 years. like?as that been have you seen anything like this? have you ever felt anything like this? >> i've not been that close to him over the years but there's nothing i've ever seen in his evidencethat would these types of views. because has been a lot of public filings. there's nothing i've ever seen firsthand that he held the views that were expressed on these audio recordings. .> raises her hand >> i'm curious to me spoke about your personal response to this. selfrms of donald sterling identifying as jewish, i am wondering whether there was a specific kind of pain associated with that for you and if you felt a certain responsibility. >> i think my response was as a human being. i used this word before. i spoke on saturday morning directly to chris paul, to doc rivers. even anger at this point. there was a certain somber news. i felt most strongly and personally for that team. playerfects every associated with the family. for those players and those coaches to go out and do the what they need to do and play at the highest level in the world and have them hanging over this, this cause me to have a certain sadness. i think this is regardless of religion, ethnicity. >> i will take two more back by the cameras. this >> at any time during the conversation, did he express any remorse or denial regarding his comments? sterling has not expressed those to me. >> it has been suggested that the sacramento players -- i'm sorry, the clippers players be granted free agency as a result of this issue. is that something that can be considered? >> that is not something we are considering. >> if you don't get the votes it possibled, is that donald sterling could still be an absentee owner even though he is banned physically from doing anything with it? >> i expect to get the support i need from the other nba owners to remove him. >> thank you, transcripts will be available in afternoon. we will e-mail them out. thank you very much. commissioner of the national basketball association, then under immense pressure last couple of days. the alleged comments by the owner of the los angeles clippers. commissioner silver beginning by saying the investigation is now complete. is donald sterling's voice on the tape. he says the views expressed are deeply offensive and harmful. he said sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of conclusion -- of inclusion and respect that of the foundations of the national basketball association. the former golden state warriors president is in san francisco and also here in new york, charles grantham, the former executive director of the nba players association. what is your reaction? >> i think it is a step in the right direction. it's we still have to convince me that this is not a pervasive attitude within the context of the nba family. let's let things unfold. let's see with the owners finally vote to do. if they conclude that he will be limited from ownership, then we will be able to march forward in a more positive way. >> the commissioner is saying effective immediately that sterling is banned for life from any association with the clippers and with the nba. he was fined $2.5 million and he will ask the board of directors to take the team away from him. did he go far enough? sterling, dead man walking as it comes to the nba. i actually think that adam silver and his focus was golden today. in terms of having a clear path to extract donald sterling from the nba and to move on with the .ind of inclusiveness >> the nba represents around the world, what was the message that the commissioner sent not just at the nba but to other professional sports leagues? >> i think this was as forceful as adam could have been. obviously not tolerating it, the banned for life, the fine which for a billionaire is pennies. i wonder if this does mean that silver has that three force majority or not. obviously, the most powerful message he could've sent was to stand up there and say that the board of directors have 40 voted and he asked to sell the team. fact that hehe said they're going to vote in the future means that maybe he doesn't have that. >> these are owners, fellow owners, colleagues of mr. sterling, 75%. that is quite a threshold. >> here is the threshold. it is also the moral challenge. the conflict and controversy. here's the time for the owners to send the message to the players and to their sponsors. >> what is the economic challenge? >> the economic challenges yet to be determined. i believe there challenges to convince that this is not a pervasive attitude, this will not affect their business negatively and take actions and will solidifythat the economics of our sport. >> he will hear from mark jackson later today, leading the charge to find the executive director. if you are still in charge, what would you be saying? >> i was still be cautiously optimistic. i would say, let's let things unfold, let's see where the real measure and temperature of all of the other owners are and that can only be determined when they actually vote. >> that is looking long term. how does this affect collective-bargaining in the future? the next time they get together to draft a new agreement? >> it definitely affects the relationship. we go back to the trust established with the partnership. if one of your partners has been lying to you, how can you believe that anything that has been reported financially is honest? .> let me get the last word >> it is been said that some people don't want to be a member of any club that would have them as a member. the nba at it in the opposite fashion today. you are out, you don't represent what we represent, let's move on. >> thank you so much. let's go back out to los angeles. my colleagues, erik schatzker and stephanie ruhle standing by again with jesse jackson. >> thank you so much. with jesse jackson. what do you think? >> well, he was emphatic. has caused the loss .f money people like dolan from the knicks were embarrassed. they will help to mobilize the necessary forces and maybe the three fourths vote. >> you told us before the news conference that you wanted adam silver to strip donald sterling of his ownership, it turns out that is something he does not himself have the authority to do. he is banning sterling for life from the nba and form the la clippers. -- and from the la clippers. he is looking to force the sale of the clippers and that requires a three quarters vote. asked that enough? is there anything else that he ?ould've done today >> there's nothing more that needs to be done. i'm sure he has pulled the owners. >> he said he spoke to a number but had not conducted unofficial poll. >> no owner will stand against this recommendation and vote for sterling. if they did not do it, you would have mutiny by the players. >> it needs to be a unanimous vote. >> it should be. i cannot imagine any owner embracing what sterling said about black people. he went a step further relative to israel and blacks and jews, how the blacks treated israel. he took it's it's a very extreme and provocative dimensions. i think this is a big statement. we should celebrate chris paul and doc rivers, those that stood up in the heat of the battle. magic johnson, charles barkley, shaq. >> of donald sterling called you today and said reverend jackson, what is your advice, would you take his call? >> yes, i would help them. >> what would you say? >> you should put the team up for sale. that because think i'm talking with you i intend to take you to the game. >> how much of an outlier the believe that donald sterling is? here we are among some of the most powerful people in the world who own sports teams, all sorts of businesses. do you think there are more people that share his opinion? >> of course that is true. to getas the big fight jack robinson on the field. fight when we had to find to win the eligibility by spencer haywood. these are our defining moments. shows that mr. silver stepped up to the plate. >> thank you so very much for spending time with us, taking the time to listen to the press conference and the decision to ban donald sterling for life. we send it back to you. >> ok, thank you. stay with us. "bottom line" on bloomberg continues in just a moment. > we continue our of the milken global conference. >> thank you so much. panelst finished your with some of the smartest investors out there. what did you come to say? what are you most excited about right now? >> as a value player it is hard to get excited about the classes in thet general credit market. if you have a different mandate, you can stand a little bit less liquidity, there are some excited places to play. europe being one of them. some of the opportunities where the banks have chosen to back away from the markets. we have been hearing that for the past couple of years. has this happened? >> we put about three and half billion dollars to work in european banks. that is happening for real. it was something that people talked about. it did not really begin until about a year ago the cousin thinks themselves were so overleveraged that they could not afford to sell things. at this point, many of the bad assets that they put on the ballot sheets of entities designed to liquidate, they are not changing hands. >> do you need to be a large fun with a platinum reputation? for those starting out funds, do they have any shot of getting this kind of access? >> you do need to be large the blocks to trade are between $50 and a hundred million dollars. you have the personnel and staff to be able to research the situation. it is still competitive. >> i feel like you're telling me that they are only going to get bigger. do you foresee all of these new funds that have popped up in the credit space? >> i think there are other places that different people can play in. if they have locked up capital, there are nietzsche is within the markets. it's where commercial banks used to be quite active but are much less active today. forink there will be places them to survive. >> what is left to be done in banks? ago, distressrs tests for your competitors. what did they were designed to you? >> no, it's actually a really good question. much more than any time in the last 10 years, they really are partners. in a brokerage snitch, not in a competitive niche. they don't have the big principle division. the capital that they use has declined probably 75-80%. >> is great for you as an banksor knowing how operate today, would you ever invest in financials? >> i would invest in financials. some have severely overreacted. the balance sheets are less leveraged. there's been a lot of capital type trades involving financial institutions that have been excellent. it is hard for them to earn the same return on equity. >> when you look out at the next 14 months, the fact you're looking at this illiquid opportunities, are you not worried that this will fall out 2007, 2 thousand eight style? >> i believe that the high-yield market has the potential to decline substantially. which is why we stayed away from the power market. when it yields five percent before default and its performance year to date is three and a half percent, largely because treasury yields have dropped. very little of it is from the credit spread. i think it is a time when credit underwriting has gotten a little bit sloppy, there has been a massive amount of flow into the mutual funds that have driven purchasing. yes, there is a potential for a significant drop in those markets. >> how do you praise for that? if you are not long the market, you would end up a full at the end of the year. how do you brace for fundamentals? at a time when the market continues to grind him. we laugh about high-yield deals. >> the first thing you do is you try to have a short duration idiosyncratic book. there has been enough glitches in the market along the way. the virtues of having a kind of approach will stop second all, you should not be hesitant to hold cash. especially if the banks are not making marcus the way they used to come when you get one of those bad months, you want to have cash to be able to deploy. third of all, you don't just rely on the market for liquidity, you try to buy securities because they are liquidating. the run claims. >> when that cash comes in, what do you do with it? >> the first thing you do is you hold it in cash am a you hold something attractive to buy in europe. structurally, there are only maybe two handful the players that can actually buy it. you look in areas like opportunistic restructuring such as and back or allied bank or others. you cannot be afraid to hold cash. one of the greatest virtues of being a hedge fund as opposed to being a long only type of player we can we can both -- hold cash. >> you're asking for two and 20. i would say to put this to work. >> our fees are lower than that and i think that is kind of the mentality that led to the problems of 2008. to be candid, we held too much personally and bank debt. you can say, those are great credits, they all went to par. they went to 65 in between and we are not eager to relive that. >> you lived through the last russian crisis. when you look at what is happening, do you want to invest or say i've been to that movie, i don't want to go back? >> i appreciate you remind me how long we have been in the business. is an area for caution, particularly if you on investor largely with the kind of a credit lands on what you buy. you have to be careful about corporate governance. many countries are trying to take on u.s. type rules and regulations to make it easier to be accredited investor. russia is not yet on the list. >> thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us. the cofounder of canyon. i will send it back to you. >> thank you both so much. one of the top stories that we have been following this afternoon, the press conference from the commissioner of the national basketball association saying that the voice heard on the tape making racist comments was in fact that of the owner of the los angeles clippers donald sterling. he has been banned for life. commissioner silver says he will seek a 75% approval from the board of directors to take that franchise away from mr. sterling. we continue to follow the story and give you more details as soon as we get them. headlines onhe bloomberg.com, streaming on your tablet. thank you for joining us. i will see you tomorrow. >> it is 56 past the hour, time to check the markets. let's take a look at where stocks are trading, about an hour left until the end of the session. the nasdaq up 8/10 of one percent as technology leads the rally. we have a lot of tech earnings coming including twitter and ebay. love earnings driven shares. first up is merck, shares trading at a new 50 week high after the drugmaker beat analyst estimates. the company cut its branding promotions and research. outbotox maker has reached to johnson and johnson to see if they would be interested in acquiring it. this comes after the valley and pharmaceuticals made a nearly $46 billion unsolicited bid for that company. of therma the focus sector report. we are joined by marshall gordon. he covers the sector which has been very very busy in terms of m and a recently. it's been interesting about this, particularly with the deal just involving novartis and eli lilly is you're getting a lot of swapping and combinations. what is the strategy behind all of this? of thingsre a number going on. with respect to gs k and lilly and novartis, people are trying to get scale in their core franchises. it is not enough just to be big but any specific disease area or a businesslike animal health, you really need the scale to compete when all around you you are facing more price pressure and you need the leverage from yourselves force, you need the leverage to be able to negotiate with bigger and bigger payors. all of these businesses are trying to get as big as possible within their very specific niches. allother thing, they're looking for durable assets. once that are not subject to those big patent clips. so, the health businesses, those are real businesses and you don't see those cliffs. management wants to provide the strong base of earnings and that will get a higher multiple. >> the other big one, we have not mentioned pfizer or astrazeneca. we been talking about the tax implications of this. this is a big deal for pfizer. they get the tax benefits of being in the u.k.. is factoredthat into the deal? >> i have to believe quite a bit. we are seeing an number of deals driven by tax. immediate benefit you get. all of these companies, the pfizer's of the world, and in fact dalliance of the world are all bidding for the same assets in many cases. when valley it comes in and bids with a lower tax rate, pfizer has to be able to bid for those at a lower tax rate. it is about being competitive. to leave itave there. thank you so much. i appreciate you coming in, talking about this very hot topic. we will have more later. "street smart" is next. >> upbeat earnings, riding a lift for stocks at the dow taken aim at traditional gains. stocks are leading the way higher. "street smart" starts now. ♪ we have got a 100 point gain on the dow. welcome to the most important hour in the session. 59 minutes to go until the close today. ownera bans a clippers for life. here is adam silver just moments ago. >> effective