they are moving higher. let's take a quick look at some of the stocks we have been talking about. perot systems is being acquired by dell. perot systems higher. caterpillar coming out and saying retail sales were down 48%. already saying the third quarter is going to be one of its worst. bank of america missing that noon deadline for papers to be sent to a house committee. and lennar reporting a wider than expected loss. we are seeing strength in techs. for more on that we'll go to brian straktman. >> thank you, we slipped into negative territory about halfway through the tradele day. we're back in positive territory by 0.2%. i'll start with the negative. dell acquiring perot systems. they did pay quite a premium, but long term it will be a year down the road. big names with some gains here. google, 1.1%. a report out there the new ad

exchange could add $$400 millio to their top line. smaller names but bigger moves. netapp, molex and novellus with an upgrade. applied materials, not so much. down 3.1%. they're going through a bit of a management reorganization and dealing with a downgrade as well. a quick check on retail. a lot of strength. bed, bath, and beyond. a price target up. and sears, a report on insider buying, and costco up 1.7% on an upgrade. giving us short shrift. we are already positive at the nasdaq. >> all right. let's see if we can follow your lead. thank you very much to brian and mary. the president dominating television screens across america selling health care reform last night and today his plans for job training saying all the new programs won't add to our tax bill. so the question is how are we

going to pay for it? will invest to raise taxes or not? the question doesn't go away, and a man who can answer it, the chief of the council of economic advisers, austan goolsbee joins us. apologies, austan. wonderful to have you with us. let's get straight to this tax issue. there's so many semantics about, it but for most people having their taxes increase say next year or the year after versus where they are now, they're going to perceive it as a tax increase. but that might happen, right? if we let the bush tax cuts roll back? >> no, the president has said we should extend the bush tax cuts when they expire in 2011 for those people making less than $250,000 a year. so they're not going -- we would extend the tax cuts for people making less, and we would let

them expire for people making more than that. so for anybody less than that threshold, their taxes aren't going up. in addition, in the recovery act they cut taxes for 95% of workers. so i thought this whole discussion has been a little goofy. >> well, it may seem goofy to you, austan, but when we see numbers like $900 billion to fix health care and $300 billion of that is coming from taxes on medical devicemakers, insurance companies, and i called those ceos off the record and they all tell me they will pass that increase in taxes straight along to consumers. it seems that the truth is that tax increase is going to hit regular americans, doesn't it? >> well, no. look, you're saying a penalty on insurance companies is a tax on somebody else. >> well, if they pass it along, which they say they will. >> i'm sure they say many things. a lot of this context was if there's a mandate for people who can't afford insurance, that they would be required to make sure that they have insurance

like what we have for autos, there was a discussion about, well, is in some sense that a tax? look, if you pass a rule that says a guy can't park his car in front of the airport and block everyone else or else your car gets towed, it's not correct to call that a tax increase. nor is it correct to call things that aren't tax increases tax increases. if we just go by what rush limbaugh defines as a tax increase, declaring yourself to be a democrat is a tax increase in his world. >> on the auto afnalogy though, if you get in a lot of accidents, you can be charged an astronomical rate. wouldn't it work economically the same way? >> i think you're confusing two things. let's distinguish between things you do like driving your car into a fire hydrant and then they might say you're a

dangerous driver and things that you had no control over like you were born with some genetic disease or you have some cancer risk, you had some pre-existing condition. i think those are pretty different. >> i would agree with you that they're different. i'm just saying in terms of how the insurance is priced. it would be a little different, too. >> hold on. if there's going to be a mandate so they're going to suddenly get 30 million or so new customers, i guess i'm not super sympathetic to their view that they're not making enough money by being able to exclude the sick ones of those 30 million. >> and that's a fair point. and i know that was a little bit of a side bar to our tax conversation. since the $300 billion in increased taxes on some of those insurance companies and devi devicemakers may be passed along or not, i have your perspective, but what about more broadly. let's say in a couple years, according to your own project n projections the white house says we'll be spending more than we bring in in tax revenue all the way through the year 2017 or

2019. what if we can't do that? i mean let's just say the interest rates go up and you have to raise taxes. you're saying it's all going to go on the top no matter how high? >> the president -- it doesn't all have to come from taxes. look at the president's speech today. he laid out an elaborate innovation agenda partly driven on education, investment, and science, et cetera, and one of the things he called for was by 2020 we return to having the highest college graduation rate in the world. and that will cost money, to expand the pell grants to do that, but he called for ending the subsidies to big banks and to use that money to expand the pell grants. that's an example where it's not a tax. it's a cutting of spending, getting rid of an inefficient program to pay for something that works better. i think we've got to put a focus on that. is there though a limit. when you look at the people who you are going to be increasing taxes on, people who make

$250,000 or more, is there a limit in the marginal tax rate you would impose on those individuals? have you discussed that internally? >> the president said we ought to go back to the marginal rates that existed at the end of the '90s when the economy was growing quite fast and it's associated with letting the bush tax cuts expire. >> that's as high as you'll go? >> that's what he's called for, absolutely. >> you're betting you don't have to make a decision of that isn't enough money? >> i'm not going to gauge in a three-layers of hypothetical about what would happen in 2017 if the legislative process backfired and we were in a whole brand new situation. the president laid out a pretty specific budget plan, and anybody who wants to know what his plan is just go read it. it's written down right there. people making less than $250,000 a year are not having a tax increase, and the rates for those above that level are going back to what they were in the '90s. >> it sounds as if -- i know we had the discussion on insurers but i want to make sure to get your sense with the $300 billion

that would be a tax on drug companies and medical devi devicemakers. if they pass that tax increase along, you deny that's a backhanded tax on regular americans who consume those products. >> i'm not going it get into some discussion about what the definition of backhanded tax, indirect, and what have you. it's not a tax on ordinary americans. a thing where you penalize insurance companies and they say, well, if we're penalized we're going to have to go take the money from someone else, that's not a tax increase on them. >> all right. thank you very much, austan goolsbee. and to our viewers, please let us know what you think about what austan had to say, et mowlogical or not in terms of the tax increase. if it's passed along by the companies to individuals, is it a tax increase or not? we'll discuss this with your panel but we have some breaking news. >> this standoff between the

bank of america and house oversight and government reform committee, there is still a standoff, but bank of america at least for its part trying to tone things down just a little bit issuing a statement that we are working with the committee on a plan to provide them with the information that they need. remember, the house oversight and government reform committee chaired by congressman adolphus towns of new york wanted information by noon today from bank of america. they did not meet that deadline. there are talks going on behind the scenes. the statement goes on to say a member of the executive management team will meet with the congressman tomorrow to discuss how we can meet their needs without violating attorney/client privilege. bank of america is trying to preserve attorney/client privilege. a number of lawmakers and andrew

cue woe mow warra cuomo want to get behind that attorney/client privilege. the standoff continues but they're trying to work something out. >> thank you very much, scott cohn. tax hike, christine well eers a dan mitchell, senior fellow at the kato institute and author of "global tax revolution," the rise of tax competition and the battle to defend it. let's get to the bottom of this. you both heard austan there talking about taxes. dan mitchell, he's saying an increase that goes to medical device companies or drug companies that they pass on to consumers is not a tax on regular americans. is he right? >> no, he's completely wrong. companies don't pay taxes. companies merely collect tax. any tax levied on a company is paid for by either workers, consumers, or shareholders. there's no if, and, and buts

about it. when austan was at the university of chicago he would have given you exactly the same answer i am giving you but he's working for an administration that's continuing the failed bush policies of big, wasteful government. he has no choice but to spin your viewers with an assertion that's absolutely nonsensical. they're raising taxes on average americans and this is just the beginning. we're going it see much higher taxes in the future if the government takes over health care. >> christian, do you think -- i mean just logically as someone who might take a drug, right? not -- as a regular person, that hurts my standard of living. it increases my cost. it's hard to say that that isn't an increase, isn't it? >> i mean, the question is really whether the companies will be able to pass on those

things, and there's two issues. one is whether they pass it on and if it's passed on if it's considered a tax on the individual. the most important thing is here that the economic model that dan would like to refer to is the initial part of a textbook economics but that's not how the drug markets and medical markets work. they're a monopoly largely and they may enormous profits. >> well, the drug companies do but not the device companies or insurers. >> there's enough slack in there in the argument here in the health care reform is meant to increase competition. if you increase competition, it's going to be much harder for the companies to pass on those taxes. so the other part is at some point you have to face the fact that we already cover a lot of the costs that we're talking about, we're just doing them very inefficiently. we're simply shifting cost. it's hard to see how this ultimately ends up being a tax increase.

this is all a discussion over making the whole market, the health care market, much more efficient. two-thirds of the health care reform, for instance, would come out of reallocating of funds rather than some fee increase. >> there's a hope we'll get $600 billion in cuts. now, that's a separate conversation. >> over a ten-year period. >> right. but i don't want to get into whether those are there or not in this conversation. >> that seems like a reasonable amount from all the estimates. >> it sounds like we could do even better than that. whether we can actually achieve it just politically is a separate issue. let me ask you, if you were advising this administration, would you be deeply concerned that they are saying they're not going to increase marginal tax rates for people at the top above where they were under the clinton years and they categorically will not raise taxes on people making under $250,000, it just seems like when their own projections say that they're spending will exceed ruff knevenue for the ne years, they could end up in a really bad spot, couldn't they? >> i would be worried about the

legacy i was left with. >> christian, i'm saying right now in terms of the promises -- >> but the other part is also -- well, i mean look at what the obama administration is saying. you have to take them at their word. they have been very open and honest with the american people about what kind of government they're going to run. we are going to have health care reform and pay for it. they're also saying we're clearly going to address the long-term deficits. the first step in that direction is health care reform. the second step is ultimately defense reform. and there's going to be a discussion over social security reform. there is nothing -- there is no sleight of hand, nothing behind closed doors. this is all in the open and it's a very accountable argument. it is a question of ultimately making -- returning to fiscal responsibility after years of irresponsibility, and the other part is making government work much more efficiently. >> dan, quickly, in ten seconds, your final word. willboxed in a corner.

>> the administration increased the long-term deficit estimate by $2 trillion just last month. they gave us $800 billion of wasteful stimulus, so-called stimulus. now they want the government it take over health care. we know that's going to be a disaster. they are setting the stage for being able to claim in a few years we have no choice but to do this giant tax increase on the middle class. obama shouldn't continue the bush policies. that was a mistake. >> gentlemen -- >> the main issue is you have to return to fiscal responsibility after years of irresponsibility. >> so why continue the bush policies? >> there's a clear break. >> gentlemen, i can tell you our viewers are passionate, as you are. we are getting a lot of e-mails about whether that is a tax increase or not. dan and christian, thank you. >> thank you very much. >> we'll have them back together. up next on the show, it's the largest commercial construction project in america. 160,000 people applied for the 12,000 jobs.

but how many new jobs and where will they really be? and then will the global recession lead to a global oil glut with prices in the 30s again? we have the ceo of nigeria's largest oil company. you're watching "street signs" right here on cnbc. we'll be back. we're down 47. eseseseseseseseses

coming up in just a couple moments, we'll be talking about oil supply and whether the prices are going to go to $30 or maybe up to $90. that's the biggest question. we will be talking to the biggest oil company in nigeria. today las vegas city centre will start the biggest higher effort in the nation. it will add about 12,000 employees. 160,000 people have applied for those jobs. earlier today the ceo of the company discussed the size of the undertaking. >> city center is the largest commercial project being undertaken. it was conceived about four years ago. it will open on the day it was projected to be opened, the end of this year. it's going well. it's probably the largest employer in the city of las vegas right now by a long shot. there are probably about 14,000 trades people working on it between finishing it, getting ready to open it, and doing the interiors. it's a remarkable project. >> here with an update bill

mcbeth, chief operating officer. good to have you with us. the aria -- is it a hotel casino, more than 4,000 rooms? >> yes, erin. >> and so tell me about the plans. are you on track to open and what are going to be some of the highlights of the building? >> yes, we're on track to open on december 16th, just like we stated one year ago. it's really an he can sighting mome -- exciting moment for us. this is five years in the making from a design and concept phase. hiring these 12,000 employees and 9,500 specific for aria, this is where we energize the building and create a true and unique and spectacular brand in the aria resort and casino. it's a different shaded product. obviously we didn't need just another casino hotel. our company already owned ten on the strip. combining it with the mixed use

development with the retail, entertainment center. choreographed circulation for ped traestrian pedestrians, plus boutique, nongaming and nonsmoking. >> how many people will you get to stay there? 12,000 people, that's been the number that's been thrown out there all the way through this. two questions from that. compared to how many people are working on the construction itself right now, are you going to be net hiring people, the 12,000? would you have more people working on building it than you will have actually working there? >> i think currently we're right around 10,000 total people in trades. there's a lot of permanent construction and structural trades have moved off. the interor design and finished trades have moved in. these are going to be very stable, high-paying, a lot of tip income position jobs, and

more importantly we believe city center creates a catalyst for las vegas to rebound from this severe recession that the country is in and it's severely affected las vegas. >> are you going to be hiring all 12,000 of these people by opening day or is this something where you're going to eventually hire 12,000 but it's going to take a while? >> no, we're actually hiring 9,500 people to start opening day at aria. there's another 800 people being hired opening day for the vadara. 600 people at the mandarin oriental and at the crystal's retail we anticipate another 1,000 new jobs provided there. >> and one final question, in terms of what these jobs pay, obviously i know they're all different levels, but if you have to give an average, what does one of these jobs -- what are the incomes? >> well, you know, it's across the spectrum. we have hotel services, food and beverage, gaming, entertainment,

retail, and i still -- if i had to estimate i think the average wage would, including benefits, is probably going to be over $20 an hour. >> all right. thank you very much. we appreciate your taking the time. bill mcbeth, the chief operating officer of aria resort, which is the one that is going to hire 9,500 people starting there by december. 4,000 rooms for that new casino/hotel. next, hedge funds paying for information ahead of a big announcement. most people would say it's illegal, and it is on wall street but it's not on washington. we have that story and one of the u.s. fifth biggest oil supplier may not be able to keep pumping. what does that do to oil prices in the united states? we'll talk to a top oil ceo. that's next. ♪ i don't know much

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you are looking at close to the last trades here in the oil pits. we'll be closing in just about two minutes or so. oil had dipped below $69 a barrel. today pressured by a bit of strength in the dollar. we have come back up. one of the issues to watch is the curve right now.

tomorrow we've got the october contract coming off of the books, and we will be trading november as of wednesday. the november contracts here fighting to get back up to that $70 a barrel mark. a lot of traders say that there's -- this market wants to go higher. at this point we're waiting to look for direction between stocks and equities. as far as gold, although gold did close lower on the session, a seventh straight session where it closed above $1,000 an ounce, and the tenth straight session where we have been trading above there. erin, every other time we have made a run to $1,000 we have come back quickly. it seems to be holding in here. >> thank you very much. nigeria is the fifth biggest supplier of oil to america. it is facing an oil crisis of its own caused by rebel violence. where are oil prices headed? joining us, the ceo of ni.

>> nigeria's largest oil company. it's african investor day. first thing wally said when he came up to the platform is where is the oil trade? we show up on the board where it is. you look today at $69.71 for light sweet crude, wally, are you surprised at how high oil is versus where it was a year ago or do you think it should be higher and we're getting a cheap price now? >> i think we've got a decent price for today, but certainly the trend will be upwards. the cost of producing today has risen. majority of the finds and new discoveries are in the deep offshore which has a tremendously more expensive cost of production. i still see prices going up. >> you think prices will go up. someone said recently we're going to be at $100 by the end of the year. now, i know you're an oil ceo. you won't come out as direct,

but is that a ridiculous forecast or is that reasonable do you think? >> i think for the end of the year it's certainly probably too much of a stretch. but it's not unrealistic certainly next year. >> next year to $100. >> i think so. >> what about the role of nig niger nigeria. a lot of americans i don't think realize how important nigerian oil is for the united states. not only the fifth biggest supplier, but it's light swede crude whi -- sweet crude which is what our refineries processed. has the violence calmed down? >> certainly it's calmed down. there was police action done by the government which the military went in there to clean up some of the rebel outposts that were there, and since then right after an amnesty was declared which was if you ask me politically astute of our

president to declare it. there's been a substantial amount of rebels coming forward and surrendering arms and working towards a peaceful delta. and production has since increased back up to 1.8 right now. >> 1.8 million. >> barrels a day. >> what about your investment plan? i know that's been one of the difficult things, people looking at a company like aonando to invest in. but you have had all sorts of issues to deal with, just the sheer issues with infrastructure. >> what we have done on the infrastructure side, we're the largest independent gas pipeline owner in the country. we've built a gas pipeline system in lagos. we're building another in the east of the country. we're committed to building at least 100 kilometers a year. with infrastructure you would see there would be more consumption in the subregion.

also with the efforts done on the west african gas pipeline, we've been able to negotiate with different governments across west africa towards creating ts off that pipeline. the oil is getting to market. we are in the process of doing so. >> wale, thank you. the last time we were together it was a gas station in lagos. our street passport takes us to china. a goldman sachs private equity fund investing in a chinese carmaker. it will give the fund about a 15% stake in the chinese automaker. analysts speculate that the investment could free up capital to make a big ford volvo division. the company was listed on the hong kong stock exchange. it's nearly tripled so far this year. goldman sachs isn't the only one finding opportunities in china. young americans looking for jobs

are actually increasingly heading to china because they're hard to get here. the associated press reports 217,000 foreigners held work permits at the end of last year, up from 210,000 the previous year. thousands more use temporary business visas which allow you to stay for several months. it's not just for jobs now. spending a few years in china increasingly seen as a way to get up the corporate ladder much more quickly. get ready to stop trading. jim cramer is talking about smart phones and wondering how many can survive. and it's called insider trading on wall street. on the hill it's just called a good old pat on the back or good research. should washington be held to the same standards as wall street? we'll talk about your congress person's portfolio. that's coming up. and you get to choose any car in the aisle. choose any car? you cannot be serious! okay. seriously, you choose. go national. go like a pro.

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here he is. hello, jim. >> how are you? >> i'm good. did you get your cave coffee t morning? >> yes, i did. >> someone paid for my cup. thank you. >> i want our viewers to know we're going to stop referring to this coffee situation, we're going to show it to them. >> erin buys me a cup if she's there before i am. >> and jim buys for me.

so it works out. sometimes my cell phone provider drops the call, and i have always wondered why that is. and you're saying that there's a solution. >> yes. >> and there is a trade. >> yes. last week goldman sachs had a series of people talk about the problem of the iphone being a total data hog, and really the only way to deal with it head on is put up more towers and more antennas on towers. the big winner was this american tower, amt, which is now the third largest teleco company in the country. the dimension of the data overload in this country is extraordinary. and there's really no way around it. we need more infrastructure. we need more antennas. >> so those are the towers. >> that's the greatest business. if i had to start over again, i would be in the tower business. it's just a remarkable business. and you put a tower up, kaeep adding antennas.

the cash flow is amazing. >> i think about somebody -- i forgot who it was, the most ridiculous looking towers in america. one was in new york and it's a giant pole that sticks up like ten trees high and they put fake leaves on it. >> the garden state parkway. a bowogus christmas tree. everyone knows. >> as if it's supposed to blend in. >> when my kid was 4 years old, she said dad that must be something other than that tree. how stupid do they think we are? >> they point and go huh? so let's talk about some of those competing for, well, who drops the fewest calls. palm, rim, and apple, slightly different, but which of those do you buy today? >> i have to tell you, research in motion reports this week, i wish this stock were not to run ahead of it because then i feel

it changes the risk reward. a lot of chatter i totally agree with, which is that this tsunami of the mobile internet is so big that there's room for palm, room for rim, and room for apple. a lot of people thought palm's quarter wasn't any good last week. if they hadn't filed a secondary, i think this stock bob at $16, $17. i can't believe they sold 8,000 pres without any real software. whether it be qualcomm, this thing is just on fire. and you cannot stop, sandis is part of it. one of the reasons this market turned is all because of the internet mobile functioning, which is just incredible. it's incredible the demand. >> now, what about -- i'm trying to debate, the oncology conference, cancer conference. this is often something where you get a lot of information on which companies are going to have cures.

>> this onyx pharmaceuticals, it's very interesting because onyx came up with terrific data like longevity for their breast cancer drug, and then the stock didn't pop that much. apparently there's some side effects involving a hand and foot disease, very, very painful, that's afflicting the people on this trial. it's just so interesting that we seem to continually bump up against a wall of being able to make great progress against cancer. it's important to point out that onyx is doing a lot of things that are right. c ceg -- celgene are going things right. despite the big blitz this weekend, i think obama is still not going to get his way. expensive drugs will be funded by various governments. >> thank you very much, mr. cramer. >> that's it? >> for today. >> all right. >> just for today.

>> we'll see each other tomorrow then. >> we'll see jim tomorrow. you will see him tonight at 6:00 and 11:00 eastern on mad money. coming up, it's against the law for ceos to trade on inside information about their companies. but it is not against the law for your congressmen to trade stocks based on what's happening on the hill. we'll talk about it. and a quick reminder, all the recommendations expressed by jim cramer are solely his and are not the opinions of cnbc and may have been previously disseminated by him. before acting on a recommendation, consider its suitability for your circumstances and consider seeking advice from your own financial adviser. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir?

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boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. it's illegal to trade on corporate inside information, but it's not illegal to trade on inside political knowledge. there are companies that make their living selling that information to the highest bidder for big bucks. should this kind of trading be outlawed? there is a bill in congress that would actually do that, but some say it might not happen.

joining us to discuss insider trading in washington and how hedge funds are profiting, professor allen zobrowski, author of the study that talked about congressional returns, and growing holman, working for public citizens congress watch. i heard you both quoted on an npr story. the story caught my attention and i wanted to have you on our show as well. let's get straight to it. you actually did a study that looked just in terms of how congressional portfolios perform, and they actually tend to do better in both up and down markets than corporate insiders, right? >> they do much better, actually. we looked at some 6,000 transactions over a six-year period an we found they were able to beat the market by 1% a month or 12% a year, which is way outside any kind of random variation. >> and you also looked at how many of them actively trade and it's quite a few. >> yeah.

during that time period and depending on the year, anywhere from 25% of the senators to about 40% of the senators are actively trading common stocks. >> and that's much more than the regular stock holding population as a whole, right? >> i think so. outside -- if you don't count -- >> professional traders. >> right. >> regular people's portfolios. so, you know, obviously i'm not saying all those people are engaging in insider trading, but it is interesting that the information of what might happen in a political bill, right, even if the bill doesn't pass, an iteration of this health care bill could move a certain group of stocks dramatically in any given day and that information is for sale, right? >> absolutely. isn't it amazing how what is illegal for you and i to trade for a personal benefit on insider nonpublic information is not illegal for members of congress to do it.

nor is it illegal for congressional staffers or the lobbyists who are lurking in the halls of congress. as the evidence suggests, this is a fairly common problem. where we particularly see these types of abuses are with hedge funds. hedge funds are this high-risk type of investment where getting that type of insider knowledge from senators or from congressmen or more importantly from their staffers can really pay high dividends on the stock market. >> and, craig, you had actually done this and just said that, for example, d.e. shaw, which is obviously a large hedge fund, is paying for this information. >> and others. >> right. they were an example like many others, but that was one of the names. >> elliott and associates, for instance. if you logon to the lobby disclosure database, you will find all these hedge firms are clients for lobbying firms. they're paying anywhere from

$5,000 to $20,000 every month just to retain a lobbyist and a lobbying firm who's hanging around congress and getting these tips of nonpublic inside information. it pays off. elliott and associates, as a matter of fact, back in 2005 even put out $80,000 just to join a lobbying association dealing with asbestos and by the way, it paid off. senator bill frist was introducing a bill, a bailout bill for the asbestos industry in 2005, a complete secret. no one knew it except bill frist and his staff and a couple other handfuls of members of congress, yet the asbestos stocks went wild one day before the bill was introduced. >> pretty amazing. there's a bill right now house rules committee, representative louise slaughter brought it up a couple years ago, and it looks like it will never pass, but this bill would make it illegal for anyone in congress to profit from insider political

information. why won't they pass it? well, the logical reason is that nobody in congress has an interest in passing it. >> well, i guess that -- >> that's the obvious answer. >> i guess it is. it's hard to see anything else. we're going to continue following up on this story. thank you very much, professor and craig holman for joining us. viewers, let us know what you think about this story. certainly surprised m me when i heard it mentioned. will president obama raise taxes or is it "an etymoological issue"? you have been telling us a lot about what you think about that. we'll share your thoughts, too.

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we have a lot of e-mail today about our interview with the white house and what they said about taxes. the vast majority of our viewers agreed with steven who said, of course it is a tax increase. just because a business costs are passed on to consumers is not called a tax, they want us

to believe a tax put on business and passed on the consumer is not a tax increase. steven thought that was a ridiculous thing to say. but kiki had a very interesting point. she said, i would drop my insurance company in a heartbeat if they passed on their tax to me. when they're making millions and millions a year. if everyone started dropping them and shopping around, someone would be glad to pick up the business. isting point. let's talk about it with our traders, and bring them in to get a sense of what they see as we come into the final art. art is with us, and peter kenny. what do you think, peter kenny, tax increase or not? >> i watched that interview, erin. there's absolutely no way around the fact that that's a tax increase. some people claim it's necessary, some not. it's a tax increase. if you go to the mer yim webster's dictionary, it's defined as a tax increase. for goldby to saying go to the dictionary to make a point somehow invalidates the point is

complete hogwash. >> art? >> it depends on the what the meaning of "is" is. >> not only are we getting ex oh extension -- >> of course, it's a pseudotax increase. what you're going to see is a lot more of these things. we're running up enormous deficits. they've got to be funded somehow. so you're going to see surcharges here, and imposition of other rates there. and they will be basically tax increases by many other names. >> by any other name, a rose, by any other name, right? so final hour of trade, what do you each see? >> final hour of trade, we've been under water all day, mildly so, but definitely under water. light volume straight through to the end of the session. nothing really outstanding to the upside as all. >> and you, art, final hour? >> i think peter's right. very light volume. i think they may try a final

hour levitation, however, even without the volume. they're going to hope they can hold on to the upside toward the close. >> levitation is only four syllables. etymological is six. >> i also know delicatessen. >> thank you. the world's leaders are heading for pittsburgh. we have a few hints for them while they're in the three-rivers city. s he's saying "toodel-loo" and switching to sprint rcle. - with any mobile, anytime. - hi, john. now, on the sprint network, he can call any mobile phone, on any network, anytime he wants. without worrying about the meter running. so he's decided to call every mobile phone in the country. he'll finish... just after his 93rd birthday. welcome to the now network. get unlimited calling to every mobile phone nationwide when you switch to any mobile, anytime. only from sprint. the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com.

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as the leaders of the world's largest economies gather in pittsburgh, we thought there were a few things they ought to know. the economists in rating all the cities in the world as a place to live gave pittsburgh the top slot in the united states of america. now, of course, that only made it the 29th most livable city in the world. but according to the economists, it's the best we have here in the u.s. maybe it's because they were brits and they were trying to pick on us. pittsburgh is the second cheap earth area for homes in the country second to detroit. the area has a jobless rate of only 7.7%, which may sound high, but of course, it is below the average% of 9.7%. that gives you perspective on pittsburgh and what it's doing to resurge and create a new city. we are right now down about 39. we'll see if we can tick into positive territory where the nasdaq is holding. you'll find out in the final

hour of trade. it's time for the "closing bell" with maria bartiromo. this is a live picture of the floor of the new york stock exchange. declines under way here. however, the market off at the lows of the afternoon. high. welcome to the "closing bell." i'm maria bartiromo, along with scott wapner. we approach the final stretch. but mixed performances really, i would say, to better gauge this, scott. technology doing quite well. >> the nasdaq is positive. money going into tech. biotechs are performing very well today. a similar story to what we saw on friday. the dollar strengthening a bit, commodities coming down a bit, material stocks among the worst performers today. >> that's true. when you look at energy right now, it's broken, oil breaking $70 a barrel today. decline on oil of about $2.44 a barrel. that's pressuring some of the oil producers, which, of course,

are dow components. >> dow is definitely something that's having an impact today. >> there's the charts for you. dow jones industrial average down about 35 points. 1/3 of 1%. aig, apollo group, both higher on the session. the leadership group on the upside for the year, for the day, across the board, $21.38. s&p 500 looks like this. the big component of the oil companies in the s&p 500, under selling pressure. >> the team is covering the markets all around new york today. we begin with our mary thompson who is our eye on the floor today. >> as you guys mentioned, the markets are mixed with the nasdaq showing strength throughout the day. the s&p, they've been down throughout the session. with the dow jones industrial average really since noon only trading in a 20-point range. weakness attributed to the strengthening we're seeing in the dollar and weakness in the