DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
FBI INVESTIGATING CYBER ATTACK ON SOME OF THE NATIONS LARGEST BANKS
CHARLIE GASPARINO: The attempts occur every day. It generally comes from three sources: Russia, Middle East, China. Here is one of the down sides of having five/six major banks -- you only have to hack one place to cause a lot of damage. JP Morgan is the biggest bank in the country. You screw up JP Morgan you are screwing up the US economy.
GERRI WILLIS: The good news is we heard about it very quickly.
CHARLES PAYNE: I think we are taking this way too easily. This is not the Target hack; this should be the ultimate red flag for us.
ADAM LASHINSKY: The bad news is its going to get worse -- businesses and government are taking this very seriously. The good news is for consumers, your deposits are ensured. This is a bigger problem from JP Morgan than for us.
BEN STEIN: It's a very big problem; surely there is some kid in California who has some program that can stop the hacking. Why can't we spend money on hacking defense?
SOME LAWMAKERS SLAMMING BURGER KING OVER DEAL TO BUY TIM HORTONS
CHARLES PAYNE: In America, BK business is crumbling. But business is booming outside America -- that's why you want to bring that money back home to spruce up operations here -- you don't want to pay 35 percent on taxes. They could bring the money back home to Canada and create local jobs in Canada that should have been created here.
CHARLIE GASPARINO: The best part is the involvement of Warren Buffet supplying the financing so Burger King can engage in a tax dodge. I wonder from a political standpoint because the president, Jack Lew, and the secretary are going to come out with something about how to prevent tax inversions/ penalize companies. I wonder if having Buffet part of this deal throws a wrench into this deal.
GERRI WILLIS: The problem is the administration is talking about stopping inversions. So what does everyone do? They are trying to rush the inversions.
ADAM LASHINSKY: Warren Buffet will do what is in his interests, but I think this is one of those situations that the politics are very clear here.
BEN STEIN: Our tax rates on individuals are low and on corporations high. Buffet isn't doing this for himself he has stockholders and the stockholders benefit from it. Shouldn't they be able to benefit from it?
NEW LABOR DAY PUSH TO HIKE MINIMUM WAGE SPARKING DEBATE
GERRI WILLIS: The real problem is that we don't have jobs, there is no job growth, we need jobs. Why would you concentrate on the tiny sliver at the end and not the big problem?
CHARLES PAYNE: This is classic example welfare utopia running out of money and the only source that is left is the corporate balance sheet. You don't have to improve skills or be a better person. We will give you the money.
CHARLIE GASPARINO: In order to get your stamp of approval for being a Democrat in this country you have to support a hike in the minimum wage. That's the political story and that's why it resonates among Democratic politicians. The economics are against raising the minimum wage, it hurts small businesses and it leads to less job creation. This isn't conservative right wing nuts its mainstream economic theory.
BEN STEIN: I think the minimum wage should be raised, but if you are getting minimum wage it's your fault not the corporations fault.
ADAM LASHINSKY: The good news is that we have job growth whether or not we raise the minimum wage, so of course we should where it is too low but we need to define that.
GERRI WILLIS: This is a disaster. You can't tell companies where and when to raise wages, they do it in response to the need in the marketplace.
STOCKS MAKING "HISTORY"
CHARLES PAYNE: SSYS
ADAM LASHINSKY: Wells Fargo
BEN STEIN: CSX
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox