the big news with aig and citigroup. you throw it all together and oil, energy, and the home builders put together a good week. rick santelli and the 10-year has been up every day this week except today. >> today is a big reversal and very, very key areas. of course nothing to do with equities. maybe it does. let's start with the dollar. as you look at interday, one week and one year. the dollar is under pressure and it bounced off of important levels and down on the week, but more importantly from the one-year chart, we are hovering close to the lows and that goes back a good tax year. it is also the same for the treasuries as he pointed out and it will be higher and today after the jump in existing home sales, everything changed. on an interday, you changed it

all in terms of yields. >> don't forget about technology stocks as well. they certainly continue to perform today. nasdaq is up and look at the tech stocks. there is a big belief technology stocks will be one of the leadership groups when the recovery happens. they have positive balance sheets that investors keep pointing to. the semiconductor index because the chip stocks are strong. that is clearly working today. take a look at solar stocks. we will send it back to you. solar is getting beaten up and you have a problem with the pricing as they continue to plunge. it's the supply and demand because oil prices have been low of late. it is certainly cutting demand and the companies are sitting on an awful lot of supply.

>> thank you very much. scott wapner. the question today out of the jackson hole, can we see the light at the end of the tunnel of doom? cnbc's steve leesman in jackson hole. hello, steve. >> not a lot of difference in what the chairman said and participants are saying. what the chairman said, they pretty much see it as a mild upgrade and very much in line with what they are saying. we will have to go with this quarter or the income quarter to ask about the quarters beyond. the big thing that everybody was talking about. the central bank of japan. maybe emphasizing the global nature of the come back and perhaps the central banking response to the crisis. let's look at what he had to say. the big word he used was good. we haven't seen him use good for

a while. after considering sharply, they appear to be leveling out in the united states and the broader protects chlg they appear to be good. they used the phrase "leveling without". he did with those as well. including additional loss and it is household credit being difficult. it will always lead it a slow recovery and a gradual decline. i want to show you the viewers with a couple of ideas that came out where papers are being presented. the economist and the studies of these 200 financial crisis and ones like this are likely to be returning to growth in 2010. that will be good growing, but getting back to the gdp levels. he warns if we have a currency crisis, it would take longer.

one other interesting idea that came out today, i want to tell you about that. an ideom a former central basicer and all the excess reserves on the books, why don't we tax them if they don't lend them. he suggested a quarter point tax on the excess reserves so they are motivated to lend them to the e condition me. something he suggested he tried to had success with. >> interesting idea. >> i like that idea. >> now we have good. we want to know how to get from good to great. bernanke said the economy is recovering and leveling out and chances are good and we received the best news on existing home sales in years. inventories didn't come along. has bernanke's strategy worked and is he is right person sho d should. >> great to have both of you back. we had a good conversation about a week ago and we had steve with

us as well. let's start with you. steve describing what the fed chief has to say with a slight upgrade from leveling out to a good chance when which he said was an upgrade s. that what you heard? do you think we are almost guaranteed to come out of this? >> i think he is hedging his bets a little bit and we have seen positive signs with the housing market and sales. we have seen growth of single family homes and the american consumer is still on vacation. he is not spending and sales are down and got the inflation numbers and prices are declining. we need to see the consumer step up and spend money before we can be assured that we are on the right track and our economy started growing. we haven't seen signs of that yet. that's really important. congress has three bills in front of it and three job-killing bills that can wreck the economy.

the $1 trillion health care bill and $850 billion cap and trade energy tax where we do to ourselves what opec did in the 1970s. the employee's free choice act that mandates contracts run by arbitrators between unions and newly unionized firms. all have approximate teshl to kill the growth we might be seeing next quarter. >> the choice referred to as card check. you probably disagree with diana. those are job killers, but i want to get you to react to where we are in terms of the economy. to frame this question, what about what we have on existing home sales? 30% of the existing sales and the big jump with first time buyers, they will get a credit that will stop at the end of november. do we have the momentum to stop? >> we clearly have moment um going for us.

part was due to cash for clunkers. the government is asking at least in the sumter get segments going. all those projects which i suspect have been funded will kick in and move from the consumer over into construction. i think when we do look out, there is no question about the risk and the reason why mr. bernanke is being cautious is that it's not certain the extent and the strength of the recovery. it's going to happen. it's already happening. just whether the consumer or anything else. there issues out there that tell us this is not going to be that great. >> what about the issue that steve raised. we see the money and banks are not doing it. we should tax the banks on the

reserves that they don't lend them. >> that's a terrible idea. you have to remember that a lot of this price started and people say banks were doing too much lending. remember the story about banks giving mortgages to people who can't afford them and people taking on debt. we were requiring banks to lend to homeowners with bad credit records and they bought too much. we don't want to start that again. taxing banks and a terrible idea. the profitable opportunities and conditions for growth in the economy. >> let's put it this way. the housing problem was not created by banks making decisions that they wanted to lend lousy money to the government programs. we can get into that, but the key thing is that there plenty of good loans to be made right now. and the banks are being

conservative. it doesn't require thome loan out a lot of money. at this point the yield curve is steep to mick a significant amount. >> they're would be lend figure they could. >> but they are rebuilding their capital base. in the 90s, we did the same thing. we rode the yield curve until we were strong enough again. >> have to speak to any bank manager. if there was an opportunity that would give them more profit. >> the banks never lend money risk-free. >> before the risks are coming up in the future. >> before we go, let's bring it up. that means should i stay or should i go. in a word, ben bernanke? >> this is a decision that is up for the president and who -- >> you have no opinion? i don't believe it. >> i don't know who points out the decision that is up to the president. he should make that decision who

he thinks is the right person. >> should he stay and who would you pick if you were president obama. >> part of the problem is they missed the key signs beforehand and think that we will see some take over. >> summer. >> thank you very much. we appreciate both of you being with us. larry summers will be the new fed cheer. a hero's welcome for terrorists in libya caughting outrage. will they bet billions on gaddafi? more than 2/3 of americans are over weight or obese. that adds $147 billion in medical bills s. fast food to blame? would a tax on food do something? find out.

a developing story and return of the convicted bomber terrorist from libya. 270 people, mostly americans died in the attack in 1988. the white house gave a hero's welcome to abdel bassel ali al megrahi in libya and it was disgusting. president obama said that welcome was highly objectionable. you can see crowds greeting him.

these are the images causing outrage. he was greeted by thousands of supporters and some throwing flowers and wearing t-shirts with his face. the man getting off the plane with him was the leader of libya, gaddafi's son. pay kept the bomber out of sight and not mentioned on state-run stations. the post was the first that i saw to announce to the world that thousands awaited his return. there is a lot at stake here for president obama and american business. how libyan authorities handle the next few days may determine what president obama has to do. will he impose sanctions on libya again or let them do whatever they want. they are a desert country in north africa.

it is arab and muslim, but a friend of america for a few reasons. gaddafi does not support radical and it is pan am story matters so much now. they admitted guilt for bombing of the jet. goldman sacks is among the banks doing business there. they advise the libyan government on issuance. the fact is that american companies are able to operate after decades of sanctions. the company we visited there in libya and the project to overseat road trukz is the biggest and the biggest infrastructure project in all of africa and for america's oil giants, libya is the mother lode. there is more oil there than anywhere else on the continent it is the crude that america needs. that's in contrast to saudi arabia. we can show you on a map where the big oil companies are. these are the bases. british petroleum and american.

royal dutch shell and up here where exxon-mobil has a lot of tracks. 2.5 million acres and over here, british petroleum and 40 oil giants from all over the world in libya. for more on the story and particularly this oil angle of it where so many of the victims's families say it's part of the reason where the release of the terrorist happened and now it's unclear how they respond to the welcome. the senior vice president and cnbc contributor. good to have you with us. >> just ask this question that a lot of americans don't realize. in a lot of sense, libya is about potential as opposed to the here and now. they have a lot of it. >> it's huge potential. as you pointed out, the largest oil reserves in the continent and much higher than that. that's going off technology. it's easy to get to.

like a straw on the ground. some of the production is as low as $1 a barrel. there has been a land rush by all the companies across the globe to get in and get that oil out. >> how does $1 a barrel cost and compare like sticking a straw in the ground in lania. >> it rises rapidly and rivals the low cost and production. when you go offshore, you are talking about oil in the teens and talking about canadian tar stands. gust to give you text. >> that brings it home to people. u.s. companies had been banned from being had there for a long time. ox dental had a long relationship. it seems fair to say if the oil giants want to be a part of the next great oil rush, they have to be here? >> most certainly, but it comes with an appalling cost.

president reagan imposed sanctions after the tragedy and rightly so. there was a hope for redemption. what has gone on stinks to high heaven. i am not giving to speaking this way, but it's clear that the bp and another company from the uk were given a hard time exploiting and converting their contract that they had been given. it will be interesting to see if it's coincidence that the problems administratively and bureaucratically get cleared up and we just pay a high price in dealing with the folks. it should be a rallying point that get off oil. this is so distasteful and the families deserve a lot better than this. >> you also say and i know they had interviewed one of the mothers of the victims and some of these people are truly

disturbed and upset and humiliat humiliated. she was passionate about this is about oil. is it fair do you think to say that in some respects willingness to look the other way is because of the oil? >> most certainly. i think it's one of the situations where you can never confirm it, let's say, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a duck. if this was any other country, this gentlemen would have been carried out in a box from scotland and not flown home to the deplorable pictures you are showing next to me. >> what are you hearing? we talked to a few people and just hearing rumblings that there is concern among the international community that got the green light to go in. we went in with condoleezza rice. they put billions in and they are worried that there could be sort of a -- they use the word

sanctions. do you think it's possible? >> if we could turn our back on the investment, yes. that warrants a reintroduction of the sanctions. the relationship is too important. this is a battle ground amongst ourselves and russia and china as well. the rugs in particular are trying to get in for the production riches to establish a port for themselves and rearm libya. it's a key country because of the oil. no question about it. >> thank you very much. we should note that libya is in the midst of the first visit of ka dafy and there deal there is after talking to hugo chavez with the joint military operations. a lot is rattling, but getting a lot of attention. we will look at africa as a whole, the investments and the

deals and the danger that come along with the deals. at 10:00 eastern, you will see some of the people and why they believe that libya is a good place. there many sides to the story. just ahead on the show, another member of the "street signs" 1,000 club and a company riding high because americans are clipping more coupons. everyone blames fast food for making americans fat, but could the companies be part of the solution? we will talk to the frontlines about a tax. some people buy a car based on the deal they get. others by the car of their dreams. during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. special lease offers now available on the 2009 es 350. special lease offers now available ♪ yes, you're lovely... ♪ what do you think? hey, why don't we use our points from chase sapphire and take a break? we can't. sure, we can. the points don't expire... ♪ there is nothing for me... ♪ there's no travel restrictions...

we could leave tomorrow. we can't use them for a vacation. you can use the points for just about anything. i know... ♪ the way you look tonight ♪ chase what matters. get your new chase sapphire card at chase.com/sapphire.

others by the car of their dreams. during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. special lease offers now available on the 2009 is 250.

28 stocks up, but wal-mart and mcdonald's are trading lower. mcdonald's obviously going to be the topic of conversation in a couple of moments. an update on a story with california's prison crisis. inmates and not enough money to keep them behind bars. the california senate voted to release 27,000 inmates early. they say that will save 1.2 billion. next stop before they are back on the streets is the california assembly. we will keep you updated on that. americans as a nation are gaining weight.

studies category 43% of the increase in american's caloric intake can be blamed on one villain. sugary soft drinks. as the battle rages, these are in the cross hairs. should they be taxed and what about other foods? foods you can purchase quickly. the idea of a fat tax has restaurant groups in arms. would it make a difference. dan is president and chief operating officer of chick fill a. good to have both of you with us. we appreciate you taking the time. let's start with you, dan. i want to get your honest assessment before we get to your company. it appears that part of the problem that made america heavier is not just because people don't work out as much, but food and eating too much. >> you are exactly right and there have been studies that reported here recently that are

reporting as many as 1/3 of elementary school students and public education today are obese and the likelihood as an adult of being obese if you are as a child, it means we don't have a crisis, but an alarming situation that all of us americans should be concerned about. the economic crisis is nothing compared to the health crisis we had today and certainly for the future. >> you even able to get what you think are healthy foods in bulk easily? things that don't have as many calories or sodium? >> we are demanding that of the manufacturers. when we eliminated i had drojiated oil and msg, we went and said hey, we are on a mission to make our menu healthier for the american people. we are going do it with you or without you.

in house, we created recipes to do that. for the most part, our manufacturers have partnered with us to create foot that's good for the american people. diabetes are ramp and and menus have to get better and restaurants have to be more certainly. we feed 35 million people. our restaurant and know dan feeds more than that. the restaurant industry has to be responsible and it's on the net. we will do it and we have been on that mission and will continue to do that. dan is all about it. >> if each of you and you both are passionate about this in your expression. if you are doing things right and providing things in a healthy way, would you then support a tax on other fast foot companies. i will not nail any names

specifically, but a name like mcdonald's who are not doing it right, why shouldn't there be a tax on the food? >> that kind of points to the problem that we tend to put blame and responsibility on other people rather than the fact that washington is not the source of our problem. washington is not the solution to our problem. tacks are not going to solve the issue. this gets down to personal accountability and making good choices. >> people don't do it. >> i know you are trying to do the right thing. a lot of people don't. a lot of people it's not that they are trying to get fat, but they are hungry and need to eat quickly and that's available. you don't force people to make shove available that is healthy or so expensive that they can't buy it. we can't as a country maybe get past this. >> leaders in america ought to say a positive measure. we need to live responsibly and take care of ourselves. we need to model excellence. i love our cookies and cream

milk shake, but i don't have one every day. i am running and jogging so i can have a treat. drink responsibly and drink the milk shakes, but enjoy fresh fruit and the salads that are there and have choices so that we can make responsible choices and model out good practices and talking and giving good guidance to their children. >> i hear both of you on this, but i have a push on it. it's one thing to say let's live healthy, but people don't do it. >> it's about education and educating people and what they are putting in their bodies. >> but it doesn't taste as good. this is the problem. maybe you train people, but i don't see how you get around making it either not available or more expensive to keep people off of it. >> i agree with you. salt, sugar, and fat are addictive. they have got to be aware and

make it affordable too. balance is a big deal. affordable good food for everyone in america, not just a certain class of folks zeechl to bring affordable food to everyone. >> on that note, we will pause there. thank you. a fair point and viewers, let us know what you think. especially with the socioeconomic issues. >> i love your customers and i'm on facebook. let us know. >> we will do that. let us know. we want to start a conversation and ask our viewers. do you think you can have a change in behavior and eat healthy without forcing the bad stuff to not be available? if you do make it expensive, what about the people on the lower end of the income scale who can't afford a place like whole foods. >> the newest member of a club. this company is riding high

because people are trying to save money with coupons. can apple make the transition for the must have gadget ogs the market? a fine line to walk. can apple do it? .

today's new member is thriving in part because consumers are cutting back and using more coupons. they get the flyers out to you. the company shares are up more than 1,200% since the bottom. as you can see from the chart, the real surge happened in late july when they won a lawsuit against news corp. it is being appealed which is important. this is a big chunk of change when the revenue was $2.4 billion. what's next? thanks so much for being here today. do you think that there is a real economic link? a lot of the coupons and flyers that you are sending out that in the economy has been more demand and interest? >> absolutely. there is no doubt about that

from a consumer perspective, we are aware of three research studies that indicate this change in consumer behavior towards more value orientation and deal of aings. it's a permanent change in consumer behavior. what we know from the historical basis is advertising dollars and marketing tends to follow eyeballs. what we know right now is eyeballs are on our media and we think it will be continuing to be on the media. >> you are the largest customer for the mostal eafrs, right? >> i believe that's correct. we spent around $700 million for the postal service. >> you are reliant on people getting this in the mail? do you have an online strategy and how important is it relative to mailing this out? >> we send colors out through the newspaper and directly to people's door and through the postal service and do it through red plum.com. we have a digital strategy also.

we use a combination of all of those to reach consumers. >> let's talk about the lawsuit briefly. you recently won at the end of july and that's what people could see, the big jump from $5 to $15 a share. for unfair competition, what was it about and the unfair comp it diminution? >> basically what news corp has been doing is they have signed exclusive arrangements with retailers that allow them to do marketing. what they have done is bundled that in or leveraged it as part of a negotiation for a product we sell which is the coupon insert booklets. it's unfair tieing and bundling. there is one point i would like to make. you link the run up to the jury award of $300 million. we announce the second quarter

earnings which are up 140% and as we track ourselves against other media companies and we track about 25 other media companies in a variety of industries, we are talking yellow pages and newspapers and broadcast media and radio and television and advertising agency and google and marketing services. right now it looks like from a revenue perspective, we are number two to google. i think that's important also. >> certainly a headline that will catch attention. to follow investors, it would be this. that lawsuit success appealed. you may lose t. you say you won't, but you might. if that doesn't come, are you worried about what it will do to your stock or will it do anything if they are able to bundle if they win to your revenue. >> i think number one, the product that we are talking about here now is a product that is a contribution to the profit

that went $195 million in 2002 down to 1.8 million in 2008. we have already seen the substantial drop in profit from that particular product segment. our product portfolio is well-diversified. although this particular decision up for appeal, we have another case pending against news corp in federal court for antitrust claims and if we win that, whatever we receive is automatically tripled. two sides to that story. >> there. we appreciate you coming on and there will be a lot more to these stories. thanks again. >> thank you, erin. >> now the 1,000% club series will continue on monday. it's one of the leading manufacturers of emissions products. inside that story on monday.

as the 1,000% club shows, they are managing or the stocks are. you have to look beyond the usual suspect. that list of 1,000% plus will surprise us and we are looking at mid-cap stocks. 22% and the s&p is up 13%. which companies are going to keep going? here now is the senior portfolio manager and manager at needham front. do you think they will be number one? >> they will have a good prospect and think they are ahead of themselves relative to small caps or large caps. i think this part of the market will probably stall out a little bit relative to the other two. >> what do you say, bernard? >> they are small enough to

sustain stronger growth and get ahead of the recession to the recovery. i'm bullish. >> you are bullish. since you are and the glass is half full and the market is up, let's get one of your names. you have unusual ones. luxotica does eyeglasses and lots of high end product accessories. >> they own oakley and ray barn, but they dominate the industry. i am looking for names that demonstrate long-term growth and sustainability and i think the sunglass business is here to stay. people need to protect their eyes. even competitors go to design their shades. i have never seen an industry where guy had the competitors come for help to him. >> maybe he should be worried

i'm helping. just kidding. what about your name? safeway sticks out to me. the creative health care plan. what's the reason? >> we run basically a fairly conservative fund. our job is to kind of hold value in tougher times. safeway fits that bill. this is a low margin business and margins have been punished most recently and a price deflation which is negative for agricultural and food products. generally negative for the retail chains. they had a big build out and a

refit of their stores. it has been a lot of money. what we see now is reset prices and we see it being done in terms of the remodel. they will gain more shares with free cash flow that will double in the next year. we think that from a low price, the stock has been down for three years at a sharp rate. we think there is a lot of opportunity for that to come back. >> two names there. moderately bullish if i combined you in a meat loaf. we appreciate it. remember when the motorola razor was the hottest phone on the planet and they lowered the price. when was the last time you saw that phone? the correlation is not causality, but will the i phone follow the razor? room for the internet. with my new netbook from at&t. with its built-in 3g network, it's fast and small,

so it goes places other laptops can't. i'm bill kurtis, and wherever i go, i've got plenty of room for the internet. and the nation's fastest 3g network. gun it, mick. (announcer) sign up today and get a netbook for $199.99 after mail-in rebate. with built-in access to the nation's fastest 3g network. only from at&t.

the i phone is getting too cheep to be chic. the price drop could be the death for the pride and joy. trade offs and why some things catch on and some don't. jim goldman is with us. thanks for being with us. you raised the question of the razor. prices came down and they failed to innovate which failed to be more important than the price

and no such thing as a razor. they have been struggling for years. is apple at risk of that? >> let me go back and apply it to the i phone. the book talks about this model about how all of us trade and the high quality experience for the ease and convenience of getting it, we tend to love stuff that ends up being really, really high quality and high fidelity even if it's terrible convenience and high if it's low in quality. on the convenience and equality end, you are willing to go to the live concert even though the convenience is terrible and you love getting i tunes because it's really convenient, but the fidelity is not so hot. in the trade off when apple came out with the i phone, it created the super high fidelity cell phone. the top of the game.

it was really cool and huh to go wait in line to get it. it cost a lot that made it inconvenient in a lot of ways, but it was a super phone. what happened since is other phones have started to catch up. i phone has the lead, but palm prehas the same is what black berry is doing. that makes the edge more narrow and at the same time the price has been coming down and more people are getting it. the coolness factor is going away too. there was a story today about how the new category of people called i phone moms replacing soccer moms and talk about a way to kill a cool buzz and have it be the thing that adopted by soccer moms. >> jim goldman. get in here. >> i don't want to be an a poll gist for apple and has so much to do with prices as innovation.

it was merely a phone. that's all it did. when you are talking about buying an i phone, you are making a commitment to a new platform and it's not just phone calls, but the music and the web access. let's not forget those apps. so even though apple is only incrementally innovating the iphone, you've got 60,000 or 70,000 apps out there on that app store and a billion downloads that are making this product truly fascinating. i'm not sure the cool factor is necessarily dying. in fact, i think that lower price is expanding the marketplace, reaching new customers, and making this phone even cooler today happen it ever was. >> all right. well, here's the question we're going to ask our viewers as we go, and that is do you think the iphone is still cool? all right? we'll let you both know. and then we'll discuss the results in a pie chart. thanks to kevin and jim. and next, big ben clearly doesn't know how to dress for jackson hole. where is he? we'll show you why. there. see? now, he is in a suit and tie. but if he doesn't know how to

dress, did he know what to say? we'll be back. introducing the all new chevy equinox. with an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon. and up to 600 miles between fill ups. it's the most fuel efficient crossover on the highway. better than honda cr-v, toyota rav4 and even the ford escape hybrid. the all new chevy equinox. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 if i'm breathing, i'm thinking about trading. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i always have my eye out for a stock on the move. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 doesn't matter if a company sells computer chips tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 or, i don't know, fish and chips. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i'll look at all kinds of stocks before i settle on one. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 if i think i'm onto something i'll check it out, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know, see what other traders are up to. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 when everything feels right though, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 that's when i get serious.

tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and the minute i get into something, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i already know when i want to get out. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 of course, every now and then i'll talk with somebody tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 who knows what i'm trying to do. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 (announcer) switch to schwab today. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 you'll get the tools, the technology tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and the support to trade your way. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 go to schwab.com/trader tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 or call 1-800-540-7304 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 right now. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 but opportunities can vanish like that... tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 ...so most days, i'm right there

hurricane bill will not be a direct hit on the united states. but it will be a big problem at beaches along the east coast. weather channel meteorologist nick walker is here with the details. nick, earlier this week i said you weren't going to have this happen, and now look, here we are. >> here we are. just stay out of the water, keep your boats out of the water. we should be okay. we are going to see a lot of waves here along the east coast. and those will begin from

hurricane bill, even though it's weakened to a category 2 and will weaken some more as it moves toward the north. those waves will begin in florida all the way to cape cod sometime this evening, probably reaching their peak along k5i7 hatteras, north carolina tomorrow around 16 to 22 feet, then farther toward the north at about that level into sun. nova scotia could feel some wind. certainly some waves. but it's going to be a weaker hurricane by the time it gets there. 20 to 25-foot waves for them. erin? >> 20 to 25 feet? >> it's going to be a force to deal with up there. >> yeah, absolutely. nick walker, thank you very much. appreciate it. well, this morning the chatter on wall street was all about the surprisingly resilient market, the strength of the american consumer, and i believe warren meyers also was talking about some sort of jeans giveaway casual friday thing going on down there. are you wearing them, warren? >> i am not, actually. i pulled a ben bernanke and overdressed for the occasion. >> all right. art hogan's back, too.

art, gap's ringing the closing bell, and duncan niederauer gave everybody a free pass for the day. what do you see for the final hour, art? >> ending the day with some pretty amazing resilience and strength here. one of the things to look at, energy prices backed up a little bit when we got the news that the hurricane's not going to hit the coast, there's no damage done there and the rig count went up. natural gas trading at a new low. again today they hit a $2 number yesterday, down at 2.70. keep an eye on that. one of the things we'll be talking about over the next couple of weeks, the strength of the u.s. consumer. keep an eye on that. stores are doing better in back to school i think that's going to bode well for the fall. >> warren meyers. >> yes. >> what do you see, final hour? >> i'll tell you, very much similar to art, i'm just amazed at the resilience in this market. with the housing numbers that came out this morning, bernanke's comments, and an expiration day, this market's been very strong. i expect energy, oil, and crude to stay tough and keep this market up. i think it's going to be a very positive close. >> a positive close. okay. and then monday, one word of wisdom, warren? >> i'll tell you, again, i think

you've got to stick with the -- everything that's been getting you there. the financials, energy, and consumer stocks seem to be the way to go right now. >> all right. well, gentlemen, thank you. and please enjoy your weekend and, you know, watch out for those 20 to 25feet waves. >> okay. >> thanks, guys. >> we'll be right back and get you into the final hour of trading. of their dreams.ar during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. special lease offers now available on the 2009 es 350.

special lease offers now available ♪ yes, you're lovely... ♪ what do you think? hey, why don't we use our points from chase sapphire and take a break? we can't. sure, we can. the points don't expire... ♪ there is nothing for me... ♪ there's no travel restrictions... we could leave tomorrow. we can't use them for a vacation. you can use the points for just about anything. i know... ♪ the way you look tonight ♪ chase what matters. get your new chase sapphire card at chase.com/sapphire. - oh, come on. - enough! you get half and you get half. ( chirp ) team three, boathouse? ( chirp ) oh yeah-- his and hers. - ( crowd gasping ) - ( chirp ) van gogh? ( chirp ) even steven. - ( chirp ) mansion. - ( chirp ) good to go. ( grunts ) timber! ( chirp ) boss? what do we do with the shih-tzu? - ( crowd gasps ) - ( chirp ) joint custody. - phew! - announcer: get work done now. communicate in less than a second with nextel direct connect. only on the now network.

, hard of hearing and an people with speech dischities accessac.sprintrelay.com. others by the car of their dreams. during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. special lease offers now available on the 2009 is 250. warren buffett continues to make investing look easy. buffett's mid-american energy owns about 10% of chinese electric car maker byd. the company is a leader in electric battery cars and is planning to sell its cars in america next year. that would be ahead of schedule. buffett invested in the company last fall and the stock has quintupled since then, earning buffett more than a billion dollars. his ninlist was only 230 million. no wonder the "wall street journal" reports today buffett would like to increase his stake in byd.

interesting. he must think it will keep going up after a gain like that. but it highlights something we've talked a whole lot about on this show and that is of course that the technology for batteries really doesn't come from the united states right now. lg in south korea one of the biggest ones and one of the biggest in the u.s. is actually compaq, which is a subsidiary of, yes, lg electronics. a story we'll continue to keep following. we've got a lot of e-mails on both the issue of a fat tax and also the issue of libya. one of the interesting points we got on the libya oil story was someone saying, well, you guys are saying it costs $1 to get the oil out of the ground in libya as compared to, say, 40 in the tar sands. their view it's i lot harder to get it out, libya get it from the actual oil drilling site to a ship. it could cost a lot more. so maybe not a fair comparison. we'll look into it. but thanks for watching. final hour of trade coming your way. "the closing bell" with maria. >> announcer: this is cnbc.com "news now." going into the final hour of trading today, wall street stocks are heading for a fresh

2009 closing high. an informant in the u.s. government's tax evasion case against ubs is going to prison. former ubs banker bradley berkenfeld has been sentenced to three years but will continue to help authorities with the investigation. and for the first time in five years existing home sales are in a four-month winning streak, up 7.2% for the month of july. cnbc.com news now. i'm mandy drury. a live picture of the new york stock exchange. approaching the final stretch on friday. the market seeing a powerful rally on wall street today. the benchmark s&p 500 index at the highest level since last october. we have some pretty good economic data, some commentary out of ben bernanke in wyoming. and that summer rally rolling on. hi, everybody. welcome to "the closing bell." i'm maria bartiromo. once again, coming to you for our summer on the street special. standing on federal hall, right across the street. it's a hot one out there but not

as hot as it is inside, where we continue to see money moving into the stock market. here's what we've got going on. for the week we've seen a powerful rally in the dow and s&p 500. we have pretty good numbers in the economy. existing home sales today out early on today, jumping to the highest level in nearly two years. then of course you had positive comments from federal reserve chairman ben bernanke, who said he is expecting that we return to growth in the u.s. economy soon. that it feels did and certainly the momentum is better. you don't want to make too much of it but a number of those economists at the jackson hole, wyoming conference also telling me that the momentum feels different than it did last year. you heard steve liesman out earlier, the same in terms of momentum and strength in the economy. it sure feels like we have entered a recovery. the dow jones industrial average holding on to a trim-digit move on the up side. financials, technology, retail all higher, very much across the board situation here. let's kick it off with our team covering the markets and bob pisani inside