national economic council, larry kudlow, spoke to reporters outside the white house. he took questions on preparations for the fourth of july and economic talks with china.

we are going to speaking to larry kudlow, the national economic council director in the u.s.. don't miss that conversation after 2:30 p.m. london time. minutes away from the open. up next, we will take a look at your stocks to watch at the open, including the mining sector. iron ore slumping after china's industry group calls for an investigation after a recent rally. this is uber. -- this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ anna: some sounds and sights from the boston pops. aretha franklin, i think. i don't think you will have quite this many fireworks for the start of the equity trading day. eight minutes to go until the start of equities traded. let's get to your stocks to watch. dani burger is looking at norwegian. sam is covering chipmakers. annmarie hordern is focused on the mining sector. the mining stocks on this iron ore roller coaster we have seen in recent weeks. re trading at $108 per ton. take a look at rio tinto. these stocks already done. the latest news that chinese mills are urging a probe into this rally. miners are set to get it. anna: we will keep an eye on the mining se

director of the national economic council larry kudlow xm bank noted that the is vitally necessary in the current trade environment in order for the united states to compete. and succeed in international markets. calling it a financial tool and a national security weapon. during her confirmation process, chairman reid committed to focusing on strong standards of conduct, increased transparency, sound risk management practices and eliminating waste and fraud and abuse at the bank. now that she has been confirmed, i look forward to hearing about the work she is doing and which still needs to be done to process the backlog of pending export deals and how the reforms that congress initiated in the 2015 reauthorization are being implemented. implement it. in addition in addition, we will begin the debate about what changes if any should be included in the reauthorization for the xm bank charter, which is set to expire at the end of september. we have been seeking feedback from stakeholders, our colleagues in the administration as part of the reauthorization process. in the 2006 reauthoriza

advisor director of national economic council larry kudlow. welcome back, larry. nice to see you. >> thank you, sara appreciate it. >> 2.% growth for the second quarter, it's a step down from the 3% we saw first quarter, but better than expected how are you guys feeling about it >> pretty good, actually consumers were the hero. they had explosive economic growth i guess better than 4% at an annual rate. we lost some ground. we had an inventory correction, which took a point off that probably bodes very well for the seconds half we are seeing core capex orders really starting to steam up in may and june that's great retail sales also may and june, that's awfully good. look, i think, you know, to keep this thing going in the face of severe monetary tightening in 2017 and '18, seven rate hikes, i think it's almost a miracle that the economy is growing as rapidly as it is it's growing faster, way above the prior trend line, and i think president trump's policies of tax cuts and deregulation and energy opening and trade reform are having a huge imp

national economic council, larry kudlow, spoke to reporters outside the white house. he took questions on preparations for the fourth of july and economic talks with china. kudlow: -- >> the president has to walk a fine line in the way he talks about patriotism tomorrow night for it not to be political? mr. kudlow: i don't know what that means. he's proud of our nation. i am proud of our nation. i am proud of what the country is doing, so i don't know what you mean. go easy on that. liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. democrats are welcome. it is the toxic part of our times. i am sorry about that. speaking as an act democrat, i recommend -- x democrat, i x-democrat, ie recommend all democrats come. >> when will the next face-to-face between the u.s. and china come? mr. kudlow: soon. hadou mentioned you face-to-face talks this week. mr. kudlow: team to team. are lighthizers and secretary mnuchin. they will be on the phone this coming week. they will be scheduling face-to-face meetings and lots of communications. i don't want to predict or get ahead of the story. >>