Welcome to closing bell. I'm Scott Wobner, live from Post 9 here at the New York Stock Exchange. This make-a-break hour begins with a new quarter for stocks and what feels like a one-sided argument, with most making the case that stocks are heading higher from here. We'll ask our experts over this final stretch whether they agree with that or not. Here's the scorecard today with 60 to go in regulation. We've been mixed throughout much of the day, though we have a little

bit of a build here. Nasdaq, good for about a half percent. S&P, not too far behind that, above

6,700. There, of course, the Dow in the Green as well. Yes, we're watching the government

shutdown today. ADP was much weaker. The Supreme Court today saying the White House cannot immediately fire Fed

Governor Lisa Cook. So that saga continues. How about Nike today? It's a standout following

its better than expected earnings report. Chart looks good of 6% today in what's been a much

needed burst for those shares. We have top retail analyst Matthew Boss coming up in just a bit.

Looking forward to that. Healthcare names, they're big winners today.

Merck, Pfizer, and Moderna, among the biggest names today to watch. And we will. It takes us to

our talk of the tape, the risk and rewards in these markets as we begin the year's final quarter.

Let's welcome in now our closing bell headliner. He's

Mark Lazary. He is chairman and CEO of the Avenue Capital Group, and he is, as you see, back with us at Post 9, and we're so happy to have you. Nice to see you. My pleasure. So I want to talk to you about a lot of stuff, but I want to start with credit, okay? Your wheelhouse, private credit, okay? There's a bankruptcy of first brands. It's an Ohio-based

auto parts menu. with credit. Sure. Your wheelhouse, private credit, okay? There's a bankruptcy of first brands.

It's an Ohio-based auto parts manufacturer, but a lot of stories being written about it.

People are talking about it, wondering whether it's the canary in the coal mine, so to speak,

of private credit.

They borrowed a lot of money away from banks.

You've had talk about the so-called shadow banking

system for a very long time. Then there was another, a subprime auto lender, tricolor holdings.

They filed in September. They had strong credit ratings and then all of a sudden, here they go.

Are these things to worry about in what people have been talking about as one of the hottest

and fastest growing asset classes out there, private credit?

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