alix: welcome to the most important hour of the session. i am alix steel in this is "street smart." the s&p poised for its third weekly drop. investors concerned about oil prices. and that surging dollar. warning investors about more headwinds for athens. "street smart" starts now. ♪ here are the top stories we are watching ahead of the closing bell. the european central bank is facing a shrieking universe of government wants that i can buy.

rising prices may help reduce the amount of securities it needs to achieve its buying gold. u.s.-cuba talks and diplomatic ties will resume on sunday and have anna. officials are working on reestablishing diplomatic relations and reopening embassies. and raising the offer for [inaudible] pharmaceuticals. it is offering the plan to the salix board this weekend. let's get to our markets desk. another triple digit move from the doubt to the downside. it would represent the third straight weekly loss. the second week of declines. investors are pricing in our starting to price a stronger dollar. what it means for earnings down the road along with a lot of

questions about what the fed will do create when will it start raising interest rates? the retail sales this weekend producer prices today cast doubt on an immediate move. you have a lot of uncertainty right now. a lot of people moving money as well to europe and japan where the nikkei closed above 19,000 strong dollar help say it -- above $19,000. the euro at session lows going below 105 and at this rate will be at parity next week. the dropin oil and producer prices and the disappointing data is adding to all that uncertainty. when you are uncertain everyone goes and buys treasuries and they look attractive relative to

european sovereign debt. you're seeing the reaction and the vicks edging up. alix: thank you. we will see you in a little while. stocks ending the week in the red. oil extending its fourth drop. all of this in the back of data showing consumer confidence fell in march. wholesale inflation declining. what is going on in the market? our guests are joining us. when you look at the market we are seeing consistent triple digit moves in the tao daily. -- dow daily. guest: this market has needed something to worry about. institutional investors as represented by the larger pools of money are under owners of

large-cap u.s. stocks but over owners of almost everything else. this all caps, the private equity, the hedge fund space, etc. time to scare people and get things back on deck again. alix: we had oil starting to fall and then emerging-market currencies. guest: we should not get too excited about this 1% move when we crossed it 15 times since the beginning of the year. what you are starting to see is a deterioration in companies with large u.s. dollar exposure. if you look at the s&p 500 they have been notable underperformers over the last week. alix: bank of america had a note out this morning saying that continued u.s. dollar appreciation will knock off 20

basis points off the gdp by the end of the year. is that factored into the stock market? >> the market right now does not want to get comfortable with the idea that main street is the place to be. your firm has spoken about this as well. there is 86 million people in the millennial age and they are getting married in they will have kids and they will want a yard and they will want things create you have warren buffett saying if i could i would buy 200,000 residential homes and you have him beefing up his residential real estate is this buying auto dealers, etc. a house that has a yard and a car that fits a car seat. that has nothing to do with -- procter & gamble or intel selling things against the very strong currency. you want to be domestic and you want to be large and that is a narrow group and under owned by institutional investors. guest: you do want to be

domestic. the story of the year so far has been the u.s. equity markets have been ok but it has been disappointing relative to the rest of the world. it has been easier to make money and other parts of the world other than the united states. i am concerned about emerging markets. that is where the strong dollar is causing clear distress and if we have a problem in the u.s. equity market it is likely to start their ended up in our market. alix: one emerging-market are you most concerned about? guest: we're looking at that blowout in currencies. itis is spreading into credit markets. just the beginnings of it getting into the u.s. dollar. if that happens and you have something really interesting taking place. alix: to your point, you want big and domestic and you were

saying you like stocks like bank of america among disney, ebay. these are the top picks. how do you protect yourself against the trend that michael is worried about? guest: we own no telecomms or utilities. from a 20 or 30 years standpoint this is the lows in the bar in -- bond market. therefore we do not want to open people money and have to pay more when rates go up. we like strong balance sheets were there is more cash than debt. it -- we run a relatively concentrated portfolio. this could speak to the argument of active versus passive. the index always gets trapped in the wrong thing at the end of a 10 year cycle. too much tech in the s&p at the end of 99 and now they have to much foreign revenue at the end of 2014. alix: you do have exposure to big banks and they will be front and center. guest: i would not be worried

about bank of america. i would be worried about a concentrated portfolio in emerging markets. guest: as long as senator warren hates you, you are fine. alix: you're sticking with me. i will see you next up. greek officials extending an olive branch to creditors after days of heated exchanges. oil seeing its biggest weekly drop since december. we are seeing that glut continue to strain storage capacity. we will discuss that next. ♪

alix: welcome back. here is a look at some of the stories where watching ahead of the close. norway sovereign wealth fund gaining $67 billion last year. the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund is warning it expects lower return due to record low yields and slower growth in developing markets. russia's central bank is cutting interest rates to 14%. also signaling there will be more policy easing to come. russian bonds retreated and the ruble fell on the news. ubs raising the ceos total compensation by 4% to 11.2 million francs. this after profit rose in 2014. they also restated its earnings. they agreed to pay the same amount to a lawsuit related to currency rigging.

greece is fighting for its life. the greek finance minister saying the government is ready to suspend its election promises in order to ill trust with europe. >> greece is a member of the european union and part of the individual -- indivisible eurozone. and therefore our negotiation within the eurozone and within the european union must be an affairs that is resolved within the european parliament. alix: this and start -- in start contrast. warning that the actions of athens could lead to an accidental exit. bill sneed and our guest joins us. you have advised great governments and advised the bank

of greece. what would you he telling them right now? guest: they have to accept the deal with the europeans. they have a very low interest rate and commit to reforms and sign the deal as soon as possible. six weeks has passed since the new government was sworn in and we are very few weeks from a grexit and it is getting closer to a deadline where grace will not be able to pay its civil servants and pensioners. alix: what percentage do you give that of actually happening? nicholas"": the how ability is about 25% or 30%. alix: that is not nothing.

what is your take on grace when as you heard nicholas say perhaps 25 or 30% exit? michael: you have to get down to the wire. that is necessary politically and within the european union. nobody wants to be the person that gave way too early. it is likely that the deal will happen. i do not consider myself an expert. i would not argue with 25%. i am read about an actual dislocation taking place. rather than some mess up in the european union. bill: the problem was out country like greece. if they had their own currency it would have plummeted and tourists would have flocked there and then attracted to their practices in services and the germans want to know part of

that. just let them fry. now that the euro is falling like a lid lid which is very helpful to greece relative to u.s. tourists. ironically, the world of economics is every action has an equal and opposite reaction. the europeans have accepted a currency that is going to $.75 to the dollar. alix: you listened to two investors say it is not that big a deal. do you agree? nicholas: greece will be safer if he goes to its own currency but it is possible that the rest of the world it will not have been in -- an impact. i am pessimistic on what will

happen if it has its own currency. it might attract more american tourists that the banks will collapse. it will be huge amounts of inflation. greece will become throughout the world -- a third world middle east country. it is going to be a big problem and that is the next reason to try and make a deal with the european union as soon as possible. europeans are willing to make a deal. you can see that if they did not want to make a deal with greece they would have had a much tougher stance. at the same time they cannot fire late the rules and they cannot create the situation in which other countries have got a bailout such as spain and portugal will start complaining. we need to find a solution. it is not that hard in my opinion but the greek government has to go back on their promises. especially the promise on making

the public sector larger. the greek public sector is huge and it needs to be reduced and reforms have to have -- happen for its own good. >> week -- you are echoing something we heard today. the euro area could face the beginning of the end if greece left. nouriel roubini himself saying it could be so bad if greece left that they are not even going to go there. well we are waiting for this deal there is the question of the banks solvency. how liquid are these banks right now? >> they are not doing great but still liquid. there is a lot of the people who have fled and even the currency -- because of the political and currency uncertainty. they are getting emergency liquidity aid from the european central bank. they are getting it in small increments. kind of a tough position. they give them 500 extra million

every week. they should be giving them at least $3 billion every week. i think they are ok. given the difficulty of the situation, the great banks are doing remarkably well. a the clock is ticking. thank you so much for joining us. we are talking about one of my favorite talk -- topics, oil. we are continuing to see the storage strain. herbal life stock on the rise following word that the fdi -- fbi is probing. ♪

alix: scarlet fu has more on

this breaking news. scarlet: the u.s. government wants $1 billion from global banks that are under investigation for manipulating the currency markets according to two people familiar. that figure is a starting point in negotiations. some will be asked for more or less. we have heard penalties as much as $4 billion but that number could change. if you consider how long it has taken for the other settlements to follow through, this could be the beginning of months of negotiations. not much movement on citigroup shares or jpmorgan shares at the moment. alix: there is one chart you need to know. it is this one. what you're looking at is weekly storage space. that yellow line pushing higher versus that five-year range which is that gray area here.

this is what the iea says, we will crimp our stores capability and that will force prices lower. michael: i have spoken to people who have estimates of where people's breakeven prices are, in the 40's to 30's. costs can be forced lower. it is feasible to be into the mid to low 30's. alix: we have seen a more than 40% decline and production rising. "bottom line bill: you have to use a historical standpoint. there is no new jobs in a boom

town but they are employing everyone. when you have the secular bull market and you maintain high prices when the rest of the economy is hurting big-time and then the hammer comes down it takes seven to 10 years to clear the market. until investors are being embarrassed for owning them until the word has been put you do not have a bottom. reading about people buying all the way down, it reminds me of 2001 and 2002. p were hoping that humpty dumpty could get put back together again. >> that is what you said. you have seen bottom fishing and you're not saying anything else. guest: the one thing that could

help crude is some pick up in global demand but where you are right now, people in the energy industry and investors are not using that kind of word. everybody is after. people talking about opportunity. guest: the quantum mistake they made was they talk to their best -- taught the best customer to use a lot less. they went way too long sucking four dollars a galleon -- a gallon. they put tesla on the map. alix: there will be some kind of a substitution. michael: turkey looks the most

vulnerable. even though they are in importer. bill is looking at large companies. scarlet:"street smart" will be right back. ♪

alix: here are the top stories where watching ahead of the closing bell. seeking to sell its stakes in three trading businesses. they are grappling with repaying emergency loans. losing more than $200 million. investment technology group has been [inaudible] and tesla reassigning its sales chief after struggling to gain traction in china. the company is [inaudible]

shares have fallen 15% so far this year. 30 minutes until the close of trading. what are the movies -- movers that you are watching? scarlet: it seems you cannot get an deal going here unless there is a bidding war. we learned that valeant will increase its proposal to $160 a share. it had offered 158 in cash. endo offered 175. to be continued. harley davidson having its worst day in six weeks. they confirmed a report that it is laying off 169 workers at a missouri plan. the hog is outsourcing but it

has no bearing on production plans are rates which is good news for investors. and aeropostale sought biggest drop this year. having the biggest operating loss than analysts anticipated. it is considering closing up to 75 stores. goldman sachs said the company still lacks a clear path of profitability. thealix: the u.s. justice department is taking a billion dollars each from banks. our guest joins us. guest: it is the opening bid for

what banks will be paying. obviously these numbers change throughout negotiations because there is also to things on the table besides money. whether or not certain banks will have to plead guilty to criminal charges which could increase or decrease the amount of money they pay. and the type of things like what they will have to put in the statement of facts or the settlement documents basically admitting to what they have done. it is basically opening bids for this but it is more or less give or take on both sides. about a billion dollars at this point. alix: what would be a fair settlement that puts this to rest? >>guest: they keep hitting the amount of money but there is about 5.3 trillion dollars traded in the foreign exchange markets and what they have been doing is what they call banging the close. you have the two fixes and that

is done of a brief period of time and the incentive to do something stupid was extremely high and the first thing is fire all these people which will happen unquestionably. the amount of money involved has to be in proportion to the amount they made. usually the numbers i have heard people making has not been anything approaching $1 billion. that would be multiples of the amount they made. it would be generally sleazy trades at the end of the day that made people 100,000 or $200,000. it was a traders' trade. if they find that, those guys will be charged an insane amount of money. it is a huge brief -- breach of faith. >> this will close the chapter for the banks with the department of justice and other u.s. regulators but this leads individuals open to being charged. what is your view on the types

of specific things that individuals could get in trouble for at the bank? guest: the way it works is through chat room. everyone's favorite thing. traders would say 30 seconds to go to my let's go this way. we will be marking to market marking dollar yen. let's all go the same way and pushed el-erian three tips over top of whatever you've taken a strike at. it has got to be done with collusion. no one bank is large enough to do it. you have a huge track record. you have the chat room tapes they are going down. alix: we have potential fines and firings. is this enough of a deterrent to change practices at the banks? guest: that is the golden question. we have seen banks paying billions of dollars over a number of regulatory and

criminal issues over the past two years and it is not entirely clear that behaviors have changed. two years from now, people could basically forget about the settlements and you can go back to these behaviors so it is difficult to say that while the department of justice does the settlements and the impose these fines as a deterrent to change behavior, it is hard to see or saith if that is actually happening in the banks. alix: what would you like to see? fabio: it will be almost impossible to make it impractical in the market sense. what you have to do is to put a stop to the collision aspect. what you will see is no cell phones, no instant messages. if you send an instant message it is assumed you are guilty. alix: you want to change the bank. fabio: the infrastructure which is the chat rooms.

you say you cannot send an im. if everything is done through a bloomberg messenger service there is someone paid to read every word you have said. every dirty joke. those have gone way down. alix: what banks are most at risk when you do the horse trading when it comes to fines? reporter: there are a a lot of moving parts. the bank site could be leading guilty, they could pay less for pleading guilty and they could pay more because they could be guilty. it is hard to tell where the bank will come. the banks that are being pressed to plead guilty is the royal bank of scotland, jpmorgan citigroup, and barclays. >> that does not mean they have

to plead guilty but that is a component of a we have reported. keri: that is what we have seen in the past is getting that guilty plea. they cannot do business with a convicted felon. when you look at the list that keri mentioned i would add hsbc. you're talking showing it down. eitheer deal with the felon or deal with the fx markets. that is almost too far to go. someone will sit there in say we are going to find you as if it they will find some way for the good -- alix: there are a lot of guilty

if situations. there was once a feeling that if a bank needed guilty or was indicted it would be the end of the world for the financial system and now they have come up with a way for banks to plead guilty and continuing operating. it has lost some of its sting. stick right here because we will talk about bill ackman and herbalife. you are looking at a triple digit loss on the dow. the s&p off by 16 points. oil taking a hit their re and the dollar is where everybody wants to be. be right back. ♪

alix: billionaire activist bill ackman's for -- firm -- said no one from his office has been questioned.

>> you do not need to make a false state about herbalife to be negative. the truth is what is powerful and the truth is the company is harming people. what is your take on that? fabio: he has not backed down an inch. he said this company is still a pyramid's game. look at the problems that existed before this story broke. they spent 12 months, 16 months deciding if they wanted to do an inquiry. in the last quarterly filings, herbalife is spending a million dollars a month on legal fees to defend themselves against this ftc inquiries. they're not going away. the problem is still going away. the allegations are there. the ftc is still there. all that means is -- that is an

interesting choice to have hired. maybe they did something stupid or not. keri: you see the government being very aggressive on insider trading recently. where is the line between insider trading and talking your book and doing lobbying to talk your book? one of the keywords and you can agree or disagree is intent. are you intentionally spreading false statements about a company, are you driving the stock price down while shorting it? proving intention is very difficult to do. this is a tough investigation. it has been going on for a long time and now you're looking at the other side, whether or not these traits that were done constitute market manipulation.

right now they're trying to figure out and put the puzzle pieces together. fabio: i think what they are talking about is something much narrower. they hired this consulting firm, global strategy group. it is 50 people, a very democratic organization and they go out and have been creating potentially these letters. someone has in sending them to the attorney general and the connecticut attorney general looked them over a's -- and said i got 20 of the same letter. did somebody go to the connecticut attorney general and say something stupid on behalf of the consulting firm while in the confirm of -- in the employment of bill ackman? if you have the ftc and their, -- in there, they spent a year

on the case, it is a pretty good case. alix: thank you. always a pleasure. if you want to see more you we will have more after the greak.

alix:: a n season kicks off thise monday. w the judges ring the closing bell at the new york stock exchange moments from now. i am a huge fan. congratulations. you went from dancer to tv star

dancer to judge. what was that like for you? >> it was a whirlwind. the fact i was on the show at 18 and this was my family and to be back as a judge and be here for the 10th anniversary, i cannot believe it has been 10 years. guest: she is a child, and a global child. julianne: i am happy to be part of this. alix: did you know it was going to be this big? keri: i thought this is a strange show and there is something to it. i do not think anyone knows what will be a hit. everyone is loving the dance.

it is part of the social conversation. it is wonderful. alix: it looks like we have great season lined up. it will be awesome. is there one person you are excited to see? >> the lineup is so incredible and so exciting and so varied. the old show is going to be full of excitement and surprises. we have a few new themes like's ring break. >> i am excited about it. we will follow up with the favorite contestant is to do this week. the show keeps renewing itself. it is like a phoenix that rises

from its own ashes every season. evermore resplendent. alix: there have been a lot of dancing shows that came up over the last 10 or 15 years. how do you stay relevant when there is so much competition? guest: competition is good because it keeps you on your toes and keeps refreshing ourselves and keep relevant and keep vibrant. i welcome any show that brings dance to the forefront. of all the performing arts, dance is the cinderella of the group. dancers are in a way slightly underexposed or underestimated and we give them an opportunity to be the stars of the show. alix: we will leave it there. congratulations on the season.

"street smart" will be right back with a close. ♪

alix: welcome to our viewers around the globe. we are moments away from the closing bell. i am alix steel and this is "street smart." crude dropping to a six-week low. the dollar once again gaining strength as investors speculate on when the fed will raise interest rates. the euro falling to its lowest level in 12 years. let's get to our markets correspondent, scarlet fu. we do have some breaking news on

petroleum. scarlet: they are exploring a sale of the entire company and the backdrop is a plunge in oil prices. take a look at the bloomberg terminal. this is the move higher. up 3%. there is that leg up before the halting of trading because of volatility as the headlines crossed on whiting looking for a buyer. we will let you know if any headlines appear. i want to get to some of the big scenes. it is always the dollar because it is the most crowded trade in the markets right now but it has become the only sure thing even when no one knows what the federal reserve will do next is of the rest of the world's central banks are cutting rates. the question here is at what point does the stronger dollar

start to be a drag on earnings? reports have cited the stronger dollar is a head wind especially for the multinationals with big operations overseas. let's move on to oil. that has been a big topic front and center. lots of questions over whether he has resumed its decline which began in june. you can see what has happened. so often oil accelerated in december and then it seemed to bottom in january. then it got volatile and february. and then a tight range and now it is below that range. the big question is whether we go back to the lows we saw back in late january of $45 a barrel. it is not something we can answer right now. uncertainty in the markets especially as the fed gets ready to meet next week. scarlet: here to walk us through is lisa and pimm fox.

cathy wood served as chief investment officer. we have a minute until the close but we just heard scarlet talking about oil. what do you think oil does to the stock market? >> it is a tax cut and an increase in purchasing power. it is good for 85% of the global economy. i look at it as good deflation. the word deflation has a bad connotation but the reason the market has been moving up is because of good deflation. alix: now we're seeing m&a related to the price. we are looking for opportunities and so better oil prices, better m&a. keri: everything has been disappointing. pimm: cold weather.

cold weather in december and january affecting people's desire to go out and spend. alix: consumer confidence was also down. alix: we want to update you on the closing bell. running a little higher into the close, way off the highs of the session. the s&p closing just off 12, so really regaining some of those losses we saw earlier in the session. the nasdaq off by 21 points. are we looking at a buy the dip scenario that is pervading the market? cathy: bank loans grew, credit

grew faster than normal gdp for the first time in this recovery. that is extremely bullish. profit growth, while it has slipped to 0%, we think they're going to rebound this year quite significantly. >> will it be good or bad because begins to hike rates? people are pushing back the expectation for when the event will hike rate, which is a positive for stocks and riskier debt. question is, is a good or not? alix: we see an impact from that strong dollar, and we see some big movers this week. let's go back to scarlet fu at our breaking news desk. scarlet: i want to segue from what you are saying, intel cited the stronger dollar as a weakness in europe the reason

why it can't first quarter sales forecast. companies are no longer refreshing their xp windows operating system. they did not participate in the dow's rise at all yesterday. hewlett-packard was also knocked down. herbalife is another one that stands out for the week because the accuser has become the accused. they are up 10% with most of that incoming today. yet you investigating whether or not bill ackman and his team has manipulated the shares. bill ackman telling us that he himself and his firm has not received a subpoena from the fbi. in his famous position betting against it, calling the company a pyramid scheme, prompting them to come in and investigate. lumber liquidators continue to

have problems. they have quantified how it has hurt sales. it has fallen 8.31% since that 60 minutes special. the company responded effectively, and it was a strong response. it is a good opportunity to come in and buy shares. whiting petroleum, we're keeping an eye on this one. had a big topic the end of trading after bloomberg reporting the continental resources annex on mobile they be interested in buying company -- and exxon mobil may be interested in buying the company . alix: we are looking at the stocks for the s&p down today, but overall holding relatively high. our stalks too expensive -- are

stalks too expensive? you're looking at the ratio of share price versus physical asset. over one means that they are expensive and we just slipped into rich territory. companies are going to spend a lot on capex, which means that the share price goes down. pimm: the thing about using capital expenditures as a measure for whether a stock is too expensive or not expense that can be difficult. capital expenditure, if it is going to be put into r&d is not an asset. it is not look at favorably on the balance sheets. that has to do with accounting rules, not how it company operates. a company is not going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying another company just because it looks bad on the balance sheet. they are doing it because they

figure they have done the homework that said we do this projects this is the amount of return we can expect for every dollar invested. that is typically what shows up in the actual stock price over a longer time. alix: when you cross over one it kept going in the tech bubble. it looks like a good time to write this wayve. lisa: that said, i have a hard time basing my models on this because it is becoming obsolete. alix: comparing then to now. here that tech overheated, and we are almost at those highs. cathy: there are four general purpose platforms disrupting. so if no one ride this way

they are going to lose out. companies have been punished for investing, and that will slip in here. alix: what are some of your prospects? cathy: we have been buying and tina help -- and tinathena health, there are so many exciting things. there are all kinds of misperceptions and misunderstandings out there. we are very excited. hewlett is moving into that space, and everyone is afraid of it but you're not afraid of hewlett moving into the space. lisa: we have been seeing this flight to safety. why do you think that?

alix: we have a chart to talk about the difference between safety and risk. the corporate high-yield, compared to the 10 year bonds treasury. lisa, to your point, rotation out of risk when all we hear about is risk. pimm: just because you put two numbers on a chart does not mean that they have anything to do with each other. do you think the same investors who buy a 10 year will also go in and get some junk paper on an oil or energy company because you get some decent yield? lisa: not always the same investor, but the weight of the quantitative easing programs has been to push investors into riskier debt. pimm: i thought it was easier to get loans. people can buy homes.

lisa: other investors will come in -- pimm: it is a housing economy. cathy: people are saying, we are a bubble territory again, and the multiple structure could not be more different than it was back then. that is the first one. the second is they are fearful of weak economic statistics. we do not know how much of a weather story is going on. dollar going up is getting people scared. if the psychology shifts to that the dollar is doing some of the fence job for it may -- thje fed's job for it, so you may look at it differently. pimm: if they do not have to

raise interest rates and people by the dollar anyway, that is progress. alix: janet yellen speaking to the press on wednesday. the real question is whether or not the fed will be dropping the word patience. we will get earnings from the oracle and nike. lisa: they have allowed the same navelgazing for the past couple of years and months because i have said just because we are dropping patience does not mean we are going to hike in june. it will be the same thing for all of the economic data. cathy: you think if she layers

of the dollar is doing the fes work, it will add significance? we crossed over the dollar index today. we have gone from 80 last june to 100, which is an tremendous increase in our purchasing power , and a tremendous damper on inflation. i think the fed should look at a very positively. pimm: can you elaborate a little bit more what you think energy prices are going to mean for the u.s. consumer and the u.s. economy? if you oil at $45 a barrel in west texas, and you've a storage situation, there is no more storage left in cushing oklahoma. alix: they have some storage. pimm: i don't know. alix: all the sudden the oil will move to the gulf coast, and offshore. cathy: it is hard to slow this

down. i do not think that china is taking as much oil people thought it was going to take. balancing that, we have more turmoil in the middle east. losing libya, losing some of iraq. it could go down, but we had geopolitical puts and takes. alix: thank you for the lively discussion. coming up next everything's bigger in texas, including the technology. i will tell you why austin is that to become the new tech capital. plus, 7 million subscribers. michelle on is in the house and will be speaking about her latest e-commerce startup. ♪

alix: it is time to do a tech focused roundup. join me as cory johnson, matt miller as well. sxsw has been a haven for the tech industry. if you cannot make it you cannot -- you can stream it. matt: is this going to get old and cliché? oryza going to be the cool place to goal -- oryza is it going to continue to be the cool place to go? cory: it has been corporatized.

there is an official lists and an official that great but it is an interesting time for these companies, young and old investors to get around these companies and to listen to new ideas and talk about starting their businesses and has a place because it really is a gathering of like-minded people. alix: since we have not seen a foursquare or twitter come out of that, is that a good thing? or is that a negative because it does not have a jumping off let form -- platform? cory: i think after twitter there was a great desire to jump on something and declare something that victor. there are a lot of cool little apps and little companies, but there are many that will be talking at this event. maybe something will emerge, maybe something want. but they are trying to do this together.

matt: hopefully the cutting edge kids will find something cooler and leg amount less corporate. alix: ibm may be turning to bitcoin. the move would allow customers to make payments or transfers without going through a bank. you're the bitcoin resident expert. is this a big deal? matt: it is a big deal to see a big smart company like ibm saying it is going to adopt block chain technology. it is the building block of bitcoin, and it will help the currency go beyond being used as money. they are not going to use it in a decentralized way that block chain is supposed to be used, so they do not know what is going on with bitcoin. alix: cory? cory: bitcoin is so

revolutionary and so important is the price does not matter one bit. the bill obtained all -- the block chain technology is it so important. the potential for this to really change the way that money works around the world is all about that watching technology. that is the innovation, that is why it is hottest investment sector in silicon valley. you will really change how money will move, history of contracts, it will be revolutionary. alix: get excited, the bbc is developing a drama based on the popular grand theft auto. the show is not going to have graphic violence or succeeds, it is going to tell the stories of the creators. is this interesting to you? matt: i am a gamer, and i like

to play grand theft on a long other things -- along with other things, but it is not theft auto? alix: it is about the videogame. cory: what is great about this game is that it was always cinematic in its approach. the very cutting edge of violence and sex and fast cars and all of that full it into this game. i think a movie or tv show about it is going to take away the fun of that. matt: they're going to take away the best parts. they are going to do grand daughter without the sex violence -- alix: but it will be interesting, how you made this transforming game that has made so much money for the company. to see how they did it, i'm interested did not. -- in that. matt: watch a bunch of gets

sitting around and coding and drinking roleed bull? [laughter] alix: coming up, we will break down the controversial case in silicon valley and what it means for women in tech. ♪

alix: this is "street smart" i am alix steel. the figure is a starting point in settlement discussion with some big banks being asked or more, and some less than $1 billion. iran's foreign ministry says he

counts on the u.n. lawmakers to stop the u.s. from overturning any deal to lift sanctions. and according to a new book, apple ceo tim cook offered to give steve jobs part of his liver while he was waiting for a transplant and. while many of you are getting ready to unwind for the week and, germany ramping up for the 2015 expo in hanover. our reporter joins me for a preview. what is it? >> fair question. everyone knows the consumer electronic show that happens in

los angeles, think of this as the european equivalent. instead of tv screens and smartphones, we're talking about cyber security. china is the official partner for this year. last year with the united kingdom. every year they pair with a different country. the keynote speaker is going to be jack ma the founder of alibaba. angela merkel will also be joining him. we will look at a new and innovative chinese technology that is coming to the forefront. the telecoms maker as well as the tv maker, and software maker

that has an alliance with ibm. alix: data security is the issue and the tech community -- in the tech community. what do you expect the conversation to be? ramy: the big speaker is going to be next wednesday, and none other than edward snowden is going to be talking for an hour-long live stream. alix: he is still stuck in russia. anything surprises you are looking at? ramy: not just yet. we expect 200,000 people. we will be giving an eye on that. alix: and little partnership between china and european country, interest to see what comes out. thank you so much. i appreciate it. coming up next, how interim

reddit ceo is taking gender equality to the next level. ♪

alix: welcome back. here are the top stories we're watching after the closing bell. whiting petroleum at attracting interest from exxon mobil in continental resources. they are exploring a sale of the entire company. according to the people with knowledge of the situation shares are jumping with news of the situation. and getting you can't on moves in the -- cpaught on moves within the nfl. nasa's hubble space telescope

has captured data indicating there's an ocean on one of jupiter's moons. stocks are closing of the day in the red, marking three straight weeks of decline. we are the news desk, taking a look at the market will begin its next week. what is on everyone's mind? scarlet: everyone is on fed watch. everyone will be doing a search on one word, patience, and any kind of guidance janet yellen can offer as to what happens next. you also have two said presidents speaking on friday. plenty of said be for everyone

to interpret --- fed speak for everyone to interpret. i know there is a diamond etf that tracks the dow, but it has 30 constituents, it is not a broad representation of the market. if anyone has there and -- is out there and has an answer, tweet me. nike and tiffany will all be reporting the results next week i will be on the watch for preannounced its from companies offering any guidance on quarter 2015. given the disruption caused by the weather, i would hear plenty of blame on mother nature. alix: a big shakeup in silicon

valley's boys club, and one of the most publicly watch harassment cases. a major gender discrimination suit from interim reddit ceo pao . it could be a major milestone for tech companies to pay attention to. with more on the issue, the principle of the development talent firm in silicon valley. thank you for talking to us on this issue. how hard is it to be a female vice president? >> it has its challenges, but i am an east coast or who moved west, and there are women who are completely in the driver seat like no other place i have ever seen. there are not a lot of venture

capitalists, but you do have some creating their own female lead venture capital firms. alix: is the change happening because of the women who are coming into the workforce now or is it changes at the top of the current firm? deborah: it is both. for every derogatory story, there is a great story to be shared. it does not matter if it is a tech industry, or fortune 100 companies, they're always going to be challenges about people who like to work with people like themselves. we have to change the level of the playing field by starting our own firms sometimes. alix: it seems like part of pao 's anger is that she was passed

over for promotions purses her male colleagues. is it just harder for female vps to raise money than men? is that what is going on here? deborah: i do not think that is the case and i do not think we are actually privy to the details of what happened. but again, this could be a personality that he is. i do not know that it is gendered related in the least bit. it is a values question. if your pressure to perform sexual acts or do something inappropriate, it is up to you to walk away from that situation. i would. but this is about changing the conversation, stop focusing on the old problems, focus on the solutions. part of the solution is that many of these women are going to have to galvanize together to create their own golf course and venture capital firms, and that is what we are seeing here in silicon valley. alix: seleka golf course. [laughter]

part of it is these small companies were created without an hr department. it was loosey-goosey. as they grew bigger, they did not get those hr practices. is that structure needed moving forward? deborah: i do not know that it is needed to move forward. it is just a function of relationships. people look out for great talent, whether they are male or female, and it is just a matter of people who went to college together, grouped together, one the case may be. they may want to work together, because some of the success of these venture capital firms is that it is relationship driven. it is based on trust, and it is a camaraderie. a bit of the old boys club, but it is changing.

i do not think that that hr role as the component that has kept ellen pao from getting further in her career. alix: thank you for speaking to us. coming up next, or get going with your gut, march madness is nearly upon us. i'm going to speak to a computer scientist about his takes, so i can win some cash. ♪

alix: this is "street smart." here are the sports stories we are watching. will ferrell took place in major league baseball spring training this week. he was raising money for cancer research brady plays nine different positions for 10 different teams. undergoing tommy john's

surgery, he will have his right elbow operated on and is expected to keep the rangers ace sideline for the rest of season. the club has been high five to combat the spread of pinkeye. staying in words will kentucky go undefeated? willie see a cinderella team -- will we see a cinderella team go to the finals? selection sunday will be upon us and we are joined by the guy who will help us figure out how to win. david and pimm join us now.

my producer told me to bet on duke, is that a good choice? david: sometimes. alix: how did you turn this into a business? tim: we apply them to bracket and built in the ability to have predictability. pimm: have you any examples of how this will play out? tim: we beat 97% of 4 million backrackets in 2002. pimm: you do not collect blood $1 billion that -- that $1

billion bet that he had put out. tim: some people apply economics, some like us to strength of structural -- schedule. if you come in with a lot of momentum, and your beating good teams, that is how we find people that others may not find. pimm: so it is only based on the actual results of a game or the results of the first half? tim: yes. pimm: they're going to be 68

teams in this bracket. we get the results of who is going to be where, and who is going to play on sunday. in indianapolis, indiana, they have put up a 17 story actual bracket chart on the side of the mariner building their ears they will be filling in the names of the teams. becky is going to be there. alix: did you play? tim: i did growing up, but i played street ball, which is different. alix: did you play in march madness? tim: i mostly healthy researchers and students -- helped by researchers and students get their brackets ready. it is a research subject for us . pimm: the coach in kentucky has a platoon strategy. he brings in five players, they play together, he rests them and

brings in another five players. that confuses the other team. tim: in that 91% bracket we used to that. alix: thank you. do you play? pimm: i rely on everyone else. alix: coming up, i will be talking to michelle phan about how she gets the attention of one billion viewers on youtube. ♪

alix: this is "street smart." you can call it the digital age of unity. subscription platforms are the new place to get beauty tips. the service costs $10 a month,

and over 900,000 subscribers but the service was to be even bigger. >> you're looking at it right here. alix: he sent me a pouch with some makeup i may have not seen before? michelle: you go through a 20 page 80 profile that we know everything about your eye color, hair color, lipstick you like and we learn every thing about your beauty face then we haven't around the -- beauty face. then we have algorithm that customizes to you. >> we wanted to really take what she was doing on youtube and give things to subscribers only can follow along into the look. she announced she was doing

ipsy and we entered a partnership. we incentivize our community to do quizzes or product reviews. our community, they are highly engaged, and we love to share and talk about it. the more we get to play and talk about the product, the more we know what they want so we send them a better bag so the experience is more enjoyable. alix: are you a beauty company or a tech company? michelle: we are a beauty network. our mission is to empower and inspire women and men to find their own beauty. we do not believe in the philosophy that one size that's all beauty looks.

you see so many different faces and adversities, and we want to celebrate that. alix: and what point will you go to a brick-and-mortar store? it is the moneymaker for big malls and big companies. at what point do you want to do that? >> we are very much focused on content and really working with amazing stylist both youtube and instagram, who are making authentic and original beauty contest. we are choosing to invest our money into the artist and content creators themselves rather than a retail effort. alix: are you guys profitable? michelle: yes we are. alix: in just three years, that is amazing. what about competition? are you going after somebody different? michelle: we focus more on the community. we are completely different.

we do have a lot of high-end rands at work with us -- bre ands that work with us, and we worked with over 250 different brands. when you look at a woman's makeup back, she's going to use what works best for her. alix: so only if i order something from you? >> the brand gives us product in exchange for the marketing. subscribers pay is $10 a month. alix: thank you so much for showing us. we will be right back. ♪

alix: you to star michelle phan with me now. she has transformed her is this into a lifestyle channel and an e-commerce start up and has more than one billion views on youtube. it is so call to be with you -- cool to be with you. michelle: it is so cool, you get to have a direct one-on-one relationship with your audien ce. there is no secret sauce, and if there was it is the fact that

online platforms and everything digital is constantly evolving. it is have to use that and give it that. it is a two-way dialogue with your community, so that wherever they go you go with them. alix: there are so many ventures you are involved in, and you are only as good as your vendor and supplier's. michelle: i am constantly on the lookout when it comes to the underground scene. i'm listening to underground music, i follow graffiti artist, i look at what my followers are creating. they are really the ones were bringing me these new ideas and giving me a breath of innovative newness. alix: what are you in 10 years? a media empire? a huge company? michelle: honestly, i am a

creator. i believe when you are not new or, you're always creating -- an entrepreneur, you are always creating. we want to get more into education. i want to educate kids about applied scientists and how they can create the next app, 3-d project, and on. alix: you are actually starting your own video channel online. when will you be moving away from google? michelle: they have such an amazing platform in youtube but you are seeing other places that are waiting to go on video. if your content is good, it can live anywhere.

alix: what is the number one social network you must use every day? michelle: right now it is instagram. the reason why is because when i do is so visual. i do a lot of videos, and a lot of my followers are on instagram. i am also on snapchat. do i think it is worth $15 million -- $15 billion, it is tough to say. it feels like a brand-new social media site. a lot of my followers are there and that is why am also on snapchat. alix: what you want to say to your younger self? michelle: luck is opportunity

meets preparation. always be prepared for the next opportunity that might come along. alix: and work hard. michelle: absolutely. alix: have a great weekend. ♪ . .

>> here you go. [telephone rings] >> this is live from bloomberg headquarters in new york. this is "market makers," with erik schatzker and stephanie ruhle. -- this is mark halperin will mark halperin -- >> on the show to