Mr. Cohen was a guest on the December 2 edition of CNBC's “Squawk Box,” which spoke to Mr. Cohen at The Deal Economy 2011 Conference where he was a panelist. He said he believed the need for the United States to come to a decision on whether or not to extend the Bush tax cuts is among the most pressing global economic concerns, along with European policy regarding Spain. Mr. Cohen added, however, that he believed the Spanish situation would improve, saying “the parallel has been to Ireland and I think that is a false parallel. The two leading Spanish banks are strong banks, diversified, well capitalized.”