right now the dow a off about nine points on the trading session. just a fraction of a percent to the downside. >> we were looking at today's "wall street journal," the personal journal front page above the fold. your friend laura landrau report being where the germs are. >> she's clearly got a germ phobia. >> not on a microwave handle, not in the men's room, it's on your desk. >> specifically dennis' desk. >> this would seem to support what laura was writing about. >> you're going to have my mom yelling at me. >> as bad as that is, worse by far is not the men's desk in the office, it is the woman's desk. i wanted you to see erin

burnett's desk over here. how are you, erin. >> thank you for not doing my desk. >> this would be erin's desk which she keeps so clean. this also proves laura's premise that the dirtiest -- highest concentration of germs in the workplace would be on a woman's desk. there you go. neat and clean as a pin. that would be erin burnett. >> the reason i love him is he didn't use ni desk. >> that would be right. that's it for "power lunch." thanks for joining us. "street signs" is next with the ever-clean erin burr thnett com up. >> see you tomorrow. welcome to "street signs," i guess. this is "street signs" on cnbc. you're looking at a live picture of the new york stock exchange. hello, everyone. i'm erin burnett. i did brush my teeth before the show. here is what wall street is talking about at this hour. whether you're buying in the rally or not, you might want to buy into the next big thing.

move over brazil, russia, india, china, there's a fifth bric. and then howard schultz sent me a letter this morning. he wrote me his new instant brew is nothing like sanka. we're going to put your claim to the test today. the great "street signs" taste test is coming up and who is better to play than jim cramer? and finally, the ultimate focus for our economy. the one thing women won't give up, high end squeeze it all in underwear. we are not kidding, and that is today on "street signs." let's get straight to the trading floors. bob pisani and brian shactman are manning the floors. >> i like this starbucks instant coffee. i thought it was terrifically. i'm pushing for a lighter roast. let's talk about the markets. the big story is what's going to happen with the hmos? we are expecting the vote on the public option maybe sometime

this week over in the house, maybe the senate debating it. since this has come back up, the public option in the last week and a half, all of these hmo stocks have been moving to the downside. once again today we see wellpoint on the downside and they have probably dropped about 15% in the last week and a half. same situation in all the other big names like aetna, all slowly moving down. until we get some certainty, the instinct is to sell them. there is positive news. in newspapers and drugstore companies. you've got gannett up nicely today. they had positive comments. they raised their guidance. news print costs are dropping. gannett has been moving to the upside and all the newspapers. the drugstore companies have been moving as well. brian shactman, we still can't get in positive territory on the nasdaq. >> we're down. i want to start with goggle.

their official company blog talking about google wave. it's supposed to put e-mail, instant messaging, document management, social network all into one package. the news is they're going to expand their testing. it's not ready to launch, but they're inviting a bunch of programmers and developers to expand the testing. research in motion finally getting a bid. just crushed, it was basically down 20% in three days' time. up 2.4%. oracle also up 0.4%. some chip names, it's a mixed bag. on the flip side of that, we have a situation where there's some weakness in the chip sector as well. intel is down 1.1%. applied materials, there's been a lot of positive buzz around this stock, down 1.3% today. also just want to point out, dell down 2.5% and cisco, which had that upgrade yesterday, had

that huge, huge run up, it's giving back some of it, not all of it. down 1.3%. i want to share with you one other item. garmin, it's going to sell a smart phone with its technology with at&t starting october 4th. you can do turn by turn navigation on your smart phone. >> thank you very much, brian. the china investment corporation today apparently set to invest $2 billion into three american funds. now, all these funds are focused on distressed assets. but this is potentially the latest sign of how much the american recovery depends on the flow of money from beijing. what could stop that river of money? well, one thing could be a trade war. joining us for the first time since america slapped tariffs on chinese tires is ambassador ron kirk. wonderful to have you with us. we appreciate it. >> thank you, erin. good to be with you. >> let's get straight to this question. the president says he sees free

trade and capitalism. but then this tariff was put on chinese tires. is this a move in the dreshtion -- direction of protectionism? >> absolutely not. it's an effort to make sure we keep a robust environment for trade in this country. president obama and i both firmly believe one of the ways we're going to continue to give american businesses and manufacturers and farmers and rarche e ranchers access to this global economy is one, being smart about entering new trade agreements, but also i think we owe it to americans to make sure our trading partners live up to the full potential of agreements we've entered. in this case with china, what we did was asked china to live up to an agreement it made when it entered the wto when certain conditions exist in terms of a surge of products from china into the united states. in fact, isn't -- it isn't

protectionism. >> are you concerned that as we get through this economic situation, maybe the recession is technically over as ben bernanke said, maybe not, but as we get this, even our boss has said america needs to make more things again. the problem is at american standard wages, those things would cost more than they currently cost at walmart because they are made in places like vietnam, like cambodia, like china. is there any way to get out of this and have more manufacturing in this country without putting in some selected protectionist measures? >> well, that is an awful big question. could you have a panel with me and ben bernanke and larry summers. i can tell you, erin, the president and i believe long term none of us want our grandchildren to grow up in an america where we don't make anything. i think it's a matter of sound

economics and fiscal policy. we want to make sure we give american innovators, manufacturers, a level playing field. what we do with the trade world is to make sure that at least to the degree that we can, we make sure that our trade policy doesn't by its nature operate against american interests, and, again, we can do that by being smarter in the agreements we negotiate in a forward-looking manner, but we can also insist our trading partners ask "uus t play by the trading rules. we believe we can do both. >> let's get one other question out there. recently all the candy companies were complaining about how sugar costs have surged, and one could say, oh, you know, please bring out the violin, but then you look at sugar and the family out of florida and how they have managed through many administrations to have a chokehold on american sugar and put tariffs on sugar that comes in from other countries.

it would seem that that policy goes against everything you're talking about. are you going it take on the american sugar? >> well, i think i've got enough on my plate dealing right now with china and brazil. i'll probably leave the issue of our agriculture policy to one that congress has to address. as you know, trade is sort of a unique portfolio within our administration. trade policies still rest constitutionally within the congress. they have empowered the president, and the president through me to be the leading trade council on, that but our office, our objective is to make sure to the degree we can, the united states absolutely conducts our trade policy in the most open and compliant manner with our commitments within the wto and our other trade agreements. >> do you feel tension though? you're someone who i remember when your appointment was announced and one of the things we were talking about is where you came from in texas and that you had been a supporter of

nafta which obviously many un unions in this country were not. do you feel you're put between a rock and hard place where you're trying to be pro-union but the unions are asking for more protectionist trade policy? >> my objective isn't to be pro-union. my objective is to help this president with this economic recovery by using trade, with new agreements, enforcing our rules fairly, working with our trading partners to make sure we create more market access for all of america's business interests from farming, ranching, manufacturing, and those industries that maybe haven't been unionized. we do that by making sure we have access to those 95 million consumers who live outside of the united states. i believe that those of us that come from a part of the country that can more easily see the benefits of trade as those of us who live in the southwest and the west coast do, it is incumbent on us though i think

to have a more responsive ear to our friends from the northeast. those old industrial states that don't believe they've benefited from trade as much. part of my job is to thread that needing needle to make sure we keep trade vibrant. >> it sounds like you're saying you have a tough job, but fundamentally you are -- you're profree trade. that's what you're saying. >> i am proamerica. i want america to make things, and i want to make sure as a practical matter we are competitive in a global economy. my background is as a mayor. i started with the facts always and the reality is 95% of the world's consumers live outside of the united states. as my former police chief used to say, that's a clue. the united states has no choice but to make sure that we are engaged in a thoughtful, cooperative, robust manner in

giving our american interests access to those global markets. if we can do that the president and i believe our workers, our ranchers, our farmers, our entrepreneurs can compete with the best of those anywhere in the world. >> ambassador, thank you so much. we appreciate it. i'll look forward to speaking with you again. >> erin, we do, and we hope you'll be able to join us for part of the corporate council on africa's business mission that's coming up here in washington in the next two days. >> i will be. i'm going to be there. >> thank you. >> i absolutely am. thank you. as we said ron kirk when he was talking about his mayoral experience. he was the first african-american mayor of dallas. tell us what you think. can you make more things in america at american wages and not increase protectionism. it's a challenge. you just heard ambassador kirk talking about that. he thinks he can do it. the question is can we? and that means can we avoid a trade war with china.

all allen and daniel griswold. wonderful to have both of you. this is probably the toughest needle to thread i have heard in this line of work covering financial markets to be able to make more things in america at wages that enable you to buy things that we deem to be the american dream, two cars, the garage, the home, and not to slap protectionist measures on china. >> with all due respect, the main economic challenge that we face is not to combat whatever you might want to call protectionism. the main economic challenge we face is to get out of this economic crisis and sponsor recovery in a economically responsible way. that means increasing our production relative to our consumption. that's the only way we will get out from under this massive debt load we have racked up for so many years. we can either do that by selling overseas or by selling more to

ourselves. we need new markets. the problem is that most of our foreign competitors have made very clear they have no intention of buying the quantities of u.s.-made goods and services that you would need to rebalance our economic accounts, and there are hundreds of billions of dollars of product markets in this country that american manufacturers ought to be servicing once again that they've lost in recent decades thanks in large part to trade policies that do too little to fight predatory foreign xe significance and that spend too much time encouraging outsourcing. >> to me what allen is saying does hit directly on the issue of trade. let's take a washing machine. we could make it here in america and we still do or we could make one in china. the problem is as long as there's one being made in china or vietnam, it's going to be cheaper than one made in the united states unless we lower our price, and by lowering the price, someone is going to have to take a cut, and that could

mean labor which should affect our standard of living, doesn't it? >> the challenge is to maintain our productivity. we make millions of appliances here, dish washers, refrigerators. we could make them here because our workers are so much more productive. better educated, better capital. that's why we have a higher standard of living from china. ambassador kirk has a tough job, but this administration is trying to have it both ways. they tell other countries to resist protectionism, keep their markets open and they're practicing protectionism at home. these are lower end tires. >> we just import them from other places. >> exactly. meanwhile, low income american consumers -- >> if we could go back to the refrigerator example because that's so important. >> okay. refrigerators and home appliances are capital intensive goods so the labor cost component is relatively low, and

the main reason that they're so much cheaper from china and vietnam at all is not because of labor costs. it's because of illegal subsidies and currency manipulation, especially concerning china, which alone artificially reduces the price of any good made in china by 40% relative to the u.s. competition. that's the problem. not low chinese labor costs anymore. >> dan? >> we make millions of appliances here -- >> doesn't matter, dan. it's the trend. it's the trend. >> allen -- >> it's the trend, dan. >> we've been moving up the value chain in this country, and these are better jobs. we don't want to make millions of josh -- >> then why are wages stagnant? >> we're in a recession but -- >> they were stagnating for decades before. >> he's right about that. they were stagnant at least since '98. >> we need more trade. with he need to open markets

abroad and keep markets open here at home so u.s. consumers can enjoy the best prices and have high real pagwages. >> to paraphrase ronald reagan, there he goes again. we have heard this old sing song about opening foreign markets for decades. it hasn't happened at the rate it should have. if it did, u.s. financial accounts and trade accounts would be much more reasonably balanced without a recession. >> dan -- >> allen a looking backwards. we need to look forward. as the ambassador said, 95% of the world's population lives abroad. >> most of them earn virtually nothing. most of them are earning $2 a day or less. where is the purchasing power? this is not even serious. u.s. -- >> the question i have for you is how are you going to get -- >> dan, let her ask her question. >> just to both of you, allen, how are you going to get income growth in this country when you have this downward pressure on the cost of goods?

we are in a global economy. people around the world who want these washing machines and dryers do not earn anywhere close to what we do. either they have to come up dramatically or our income might have to come down. this is a real question. this is the new normal. >> what we need to ensure is that many more american workers than at present can work in capital and technology intensive industries where you have high productivity not because of offshoring, but because you're giving these workers more and much better tools to work with. if we keep on letting our manufacturing decline as a share of our total economy, we won't have enough well-paid workers to maintain our living standards without continuing to rack up dangerous debts. >> all right, allen, dan, we'll leave it there. thank you very much. obviously, a conversation we will continue, but viewers, please let us know what you think? do you think we need to

physically make more things in this country in order to sustain a standard of living we all think is appropriate? it is perhaps one of the most important questions out there. let us know what you think. by the way, america is still the number one manufacturer in the world. that's true. up next on the show, who will be the next bric? we'll make the case for one rising asian tiger, a democracy with a growing economy and more people than the "b" in bric, brazil. and he's an 11-time nba all-star. he sells more jerseys than any other player in the nba. now kobe bryant has a new deal and he's only talking about it right here. darren rovell with a special interview on "street signs." we'll be back.

earlier this year morgan stanley made a case for the fifth bric. they said that should be indonesia, and now big business is starting to put real money behind that. today ge chairman and ceo jeff imel talked about boosting investment in indonesia. he is my boss, so we take that very seriously. here now to talk about indonesia's growth is the minister of trade mary panjestu. i remember when morgan stanley came out and said there should be a fifth bric. brazil, russia, india, china, and indonesia. why indonesia? >> well, i think we are the largest country in southeast asia, and we have been growing

at around 6% up to the time of the crisis. even last year we grew at 6.1%. this year we are projecting growth at around 4.5% which is the third highest growth in 2009 out of all economies and we have weathered the crisis well. we've continued our reforms, and we are a thriving democracy. >> obviously, the thriving democracy gets a lot of attention here in the u.s. with big business. but the other thing that as of course you are well aware gets a lot of coverage is some of the instability and obviously terrorist attacks, bombings at the marriott and the ritz-carlton in the central business district in jakarta. nine people killed, 50 wounded. earlier there had been the ba b attacks just a couple years ago. is this just a part of how business is in indonesia? >> i think you should see the progress we have made. the democracy means there's stability and continuity in the

policy, and we've been very, very determined in terms of addressing the terrorist attacks, and just recently we have apprehended the two top terrorists in asia, not just in indonesia, with the apprehension we were able to be successful, and we will continue, of course, our efforts to address these terrorist cells. and more widely indonesia is the largest country -- the country with the largest muslim population, and it is by and large moderate. we have a very determined effort to really address extremism and terrorism. >> important point, one of the largest muslim countries in the world. the jakarta index, since those bombings i referred to in jakarta on july 17th is up.

it's up about 6.2%. what about investment incentives? are there any particular things that if companies are looking to indonesia, you are doing? tax breaks as examples? >> well, what we've done is as part of our overall reforms and as part of the response in terms of fiscal stimulus, we are doing both on the stimulus size as well as given incentives. as part of the overall tax reform, tax rates will be coming down. last year the corporate tax rates were 30%. this year it will be 28%, and next year will be 25%. on top of that we will be having incentives in terms of investment allowance for some new areas and special economic zones. but i think the biggest really incentive for investors is the stability that we are offering both the macroeconomic stability, the political stability, and most importantly the continuation of the reforms that we have started in the last five years of this

administration. the incumbent president will be continuing as the new president as of 20th of october, and he promises to not just continue his reforms but also accelerate the reforms to reduce costs of doing business, improve the industrial climate, and accelerate the infrastructure building we will be needing. >> minister, thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you. >> we should note indonesia's target is for 7% annual growth over the next five years which will bring it right in line with the likes of china and india in particular. thank you so much. appreciate you're being with us. >> thank you very much. just ahead on the show, the case-shiller numbers for the 20 biggest cities, they still show prices falling. are prices going to go up anytime soon? diana olick has a special report. and then a lot of props today on this show. what can these, women all know what i'm showing here, the men may be confused, but believe us, they tell you something very

important about the economy. this is a new take on the underwear indicator. "street signs" will be right back.

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home prices are on the way up, but is this -- well, is this really the way to look at the

numbers we got today. diana olick has the details. it all comes down to this, do you look at your hope and where it's priced now versus where it was priced a year ago or where it was priced a month ago? and it's two different stories, right? >> it is exactly two different stories, erin. yes, we are seeing home prices overall moderating. with year-over-year drops less dramatic and we're seeing some gains month to month. you want to go inside the numbers and show what you they really mean. take a look first at the s&p case-shiller home price index. down around 13% for june year-over-year. that's an important comparison. better than the 20% annual drop we saw last winter. prices are back to where they were in the fall of 2003. >> we are seeing a bottom, but a very fragile bottom. the year over year numbers are what to look at. we're going to continue to be down as we move into 2010. what i worry about is the cyclical losses we're now seeing

from the 20% down home buyers that were in good shape hitting prime mortgages that now have 10% unemployment rates. >> now, you can see that fragility in the marketplace when you go market to market in this report and you compare seasonally adjusted to nonsee johnally adju -- nonseasonally . if you seasonally adjust the monthly gains, some are half what the raw numbers are. the first time home buyer credit adding perhaps as many as 335 350,000 new buyers. >> thank you very much. now you have the housing headlines and the context. get ready to stop trading. jim is going to do the test.

starbucks instant and, yes, sanka. now, this shouldn't be hard, right? because this is decaf and this isn't, but the big taste test is coming up. starbucks' future depends on that and then he's been called the nba's player of the decade. he sells more jerseys in china than yao ming. when he finds a deal, people pay attention. kobe bryant will be here on "street signs." $$$$$$$$$

do you think that he has butterflies in his belly? >> i don't know. i think he's making a big comeback. i believe in the comeback. i was talking to a guy who was featured in "the new york times" but not for the taste of this coffee the other day because the line was so long. >> the denver guy? >> the guy had good coffee. what can i tell you? he always knew exactly what i wanted. he knew. i went -- when our coffee man, when the line is too long, i went to that guy. >> i don't cheat on the coffee man.

i made a joke this morning and howard schultz wrote me this letter and he said i wanted to make sure you tasted starbucks via. hopefully you recognize it's not like sanka. >> that's kind of a fast letter to get. >> he did. he sent it over. it was -- he wrote it in green starbucks ink and i got the letter. >> he said it would take a long time to turn but he's going to turn. >> here we go. are you ready? >> this is black. >> one is what? >> one is going to be starbucks and one is going to be sanka. >> mm-mmm. let me try the other. rather tasty. >> okay. i sort of feel badly in howard schultz is out there right now and he's just praying -- howard schultz. which do you think it was? do you know what, jim? let me tell you something. i want everyone to know that if

he spat out starbucks, that would be chapter 11, howard. but you know what? howard schultz had the one you liked. >> is it stuff is undrinkable. this is good varnish. maybe we get a little brush -- >> listen -- >> yeah. that is vial. howa howard, you're the winner. >> if he couldn't beat this -- >> it's a low benchmark, but $21 billion market. i read that in the paper. >> instant coffee. >> there's life after sanka. >> thank god you didn't spit on his letter. i want to save the letter. >> i refuse to put that in my stomach. now these people -- hey, guys, spare me. don't 1e7 don't send me 4 million jars.

it's just as bad as one jar. smoking bad. >> he did send over some. that was nice. and he's going to be on. he's going to be on cnbc, howard schultz. today on "the closing bell" at 3:00. >> really? tell him i said hi. he's very funny. >> hopefully he's watching right now. so i would like to hear what happened when you did the spit and he just went holy -- >> you think there was that moment? that orange lid on the bun thing -- >> it's like you set the bar low. >> we're going to be talking about spanx in a moment. we call it the ultimate crocus. you have a retailer very high volume what would you do with ralph lauren?

>> i would hold on to ralph lauren. it's up four. i bumped into ralph. i'm not kidding. going to a restaurant in vinegar hill and suddenly he's walking toward me with his son. and this has been a monster stock since the bottom, and i continue to believe it will remain a monster stock because this is the best run company with a fabulous brand name and they have done everything right internationally. this is an incredible story. why people got down on it to begin with i don't understand. >> in addition to ralph lauren. >> i would eric wiseman on last week. he was speaking bullishly. he said things are much better than people necessarily think. i want to emphasize ralph lauren who actually runs the company day to day has done a miraculous job and why it wasn't getting any credit during this period when the economy was coming back, it's still a good stock, and i don't think -- look, i obviously don't like to recommend a stock that's up 3.5. but what was this stock doing in

the 60s? heretical. >> heretical? >> ralph is the real deal, man. >> i'm squeezing one more in. walgreen's surging. cvs surging. everyone is expecting great thing with the flu shot. >> you had twice -- last year you had twice the number of people coming in for flu shot. now when you go into flu shot, you go to walgreen's, you also buy gum and stuff like that. howard, you're the new winner. that other stuff -- >> like i said, i would have had to project chapter 11 for starbucks. we just compared ed instant de. more of jim continue, mad money tonight. i'm going to cut him off from howard schultz's coffee because he's already crazy enough. there seems to be one product women are not cutting

back on. butts are big in the recession. >> butts are big. >> you other brothers can't deny. when a girl walks in. darren rovell is live with another special guest. >> we're here with the league's most popular player, kobe bryant, to talk about his new memorabilia trading card deal. that's coming up next on "street signs." 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.

he's the hottest marketing commodity in the nba, and he's coming off of a world championship. we're talking, of course, about kobe bryant. today he's becoming the global ambassador for a new brand.

darren rovell is in los angeles with the lakers superstar and all the details. darren, take it away. >> erin, thank you so much. the last time you probably saw kobe bryant, he was hoisting the larry o'brien trophy for the fourth time. of course, the finals mvp. you're here to talk about a new venture with panini, a trading card company based in italy, but they have the exclusive rights to nba trading cards starting this season. tell me why you got into this. >> it's just a great relationship. we share the same vision and passion for trading cards. as a kid, you know, you collected so many different cards and so forth. they have so much energy and passion they're kind of pumping that new energy into the business. we share that same goal. >> and how do you get that in there because when we were kids, the business was much bigger than it is today. two, three times as big. >> right. >> how do you energize it? some people say it starts with an exclusive partner like the nba as done. we're just giving the rights to one happen.

how do you energize the market? >> from a business perspective that's the start. you have to create that emotional connection with the youth because there's so many options out there for kids nowadays. you have to create that connection with them, that experience, they want to be a part of something. i think that's how you do it. >> and starting october 2nd, it's called prestige basketball. >> i have some of the cards here. >> you do. i'm surprised. >> there it is. >> i think we have some video of that. kobe bryant, and you got signatures. >> they do a great job. they do a great job with the cards and how they put them together and the quality. >> when you sign your signature each time, is it always the same? >> i try to make it the same every single time. you know, and it's kind of like a dance. you know, you just sit there and sign them away and they make it very easy to sign. no problem. >> you're number one in jersey sales in the u.s., in europe, in china. espn sports poll actually said you're the second-most popular athlete in america just behind

tiger woods, and you're at the height of your popularity now. why? >> that's a great question. you know, years ago, about five or six years ago, i got together with my team, and we started our own marketing company, and decided to tweak some things. go in a different direction a little bit, and a lot of patience and perseverance and working with brilliant people, and here we are. >> nike last year, people said it might have been a risky campaign where you have the low cut shows. >> right. >> and people were surprised, and it came along with the whole ankle insurance idea. you won a championship and you didn't break an ankle. >> and i didn't break my ankle. >> are you relieved or are you willing to do the same thing with nike this season? >> what we do with each new shoe is we try to improve upon the design, improve upon the technology, and the five will be no different. >> so you're not -- >> that's all i'm diagnose.

>> that's all you're giving away. let's talk a little about twitter. ron artest is a little active, some people say overactive maybe. are you ever going to be involved on twitter and what do you think about it? >> i don't see myself really twittering too much. if i had something to say, i'd probably just ask ron to write it for me. >> are you sure? >> it will be fine. >> kobe, thanks so much for joining us. >> always a pleasure. >> packs of the panini prestige basketball come out october 7th. includes kobe's signature and the nba season kicks offer and starts with the lakers getting their ring. next on the show, the one thing women won't give up no matter how bad the economy is. ♪ you other brothers can't deny when a girl walks in with an italy bitty waist ♪

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consumers may be losing faith in the recovery, the data slipped in september, americans continuing to worry about jobs. you know what? they also still worry about looking good. that is where our story begins today. sarah makely, the founder of spanx. i remember on the new york stock exchange getting a blank stare from the men and the women saying, of course, we know what spanx are. explain what the product is. >> it is all about the butt. it gets rid of panty lines. it is a thin shaper that goes underneath your pants. you can wear any style shoe. what made spanx different is it didn't stop on the side. you don't see a line or bulge. the next product is without a leg band on the side.

>> now you have all lengths. >> spanx full body suit. >> darren rovell might put one on. he's worn a speedo thing. you have different price points. >> yes. >> these are not cheap. $22 for a footless pair of spanx. you have a mid level that goes to target? >> target, dillards. >> you launched a high end at the worst possible month. right before you were going to have a baby and in march when it seemed the world might end in terms of consumers. >> you know what, erin? the women came out for it. it has been phenomenal. we had to double our projections on contour. we created something that didn't

exist. women want to invest in anything that hasn't been done and has fall. >> haute contour if you want to buy a pair of spanx, what would the equivalent cost? >> $58 to $158. so it is a much higher price point, but it is not made out of hosiery, so the fabrication is cut and sew. it is a product that lasts a lot longer. it is meant to be layered. >> it might be bulletproofed. >> women are wearing it to be seen in. >> i always go in ancee how they have so many new things. you have this and you are launching swimsuits. >> yes. who told you? >> i had a sneak peek. when are they coming out? >> i had a guy at starbucks who

said can you make my life look good in a bikini. i'll work on that. our swim line is coming out. it has the magic shaping of spanx. consumers have been asking it for years. >> you sell something that shy end, you launch the high end thing at the worst time and so far it has done well, exceeded your plan? >> yes. >> men, you should know the name spanx as most the women in your life do. >> thank you. >> congratulations on your new baby. >> thank you. the consumer is doing better than expected especially in things you can't do without. how do you trade that? gentlemen, you look shell shocked but meanwhile it would appear you drew the best draws f

the day. you get to talk about spanx. bernie, in all seriousness, what sarah is talking about is there is demand for high price point products if people want them. does that make you feel better about the market? >> if you have an extension for men called beer bellies, she'll have a lot of men wanting them. >> i bet she will. >> i'm weary about the consumer going forward. it looks to me that the consumer is leary about reaching into the pocketbook and pulling out the dollar. >> what would you say, pat kernen? >> we are a little shell shocked here because the vision of cramer at home sipping sanka and wearing spanx has us shocked. >> that is a tough one. >> no. really, from the whole trade today, this morning we were

waiting toee what consumer confidence would be. the market took a dip off of it. trended back up. i think basically what we've been seeing developing is people looking at this market, thinking there is a going to be a pull back. unemployment could go higher on friday, people are wondering if the consumer is going to spend money. >> all right. so would you agree with the cramer trade, either one of you, that they liked ralph lauren and v-escort. >> yeah. they are controlling their inventories. there is a play in consumer staples. a lot of folks are looking for value. housing prices have bottomed out. i think people have given up on housing as their asset base and don't feel wealthy so i'm a little cautious. >> thank you very much. i should empathize here, the

amendment in the senate finance committee as expected did fail this is the public option plan. the vote is 15-8. keep in mind this was a public option and the government would set what it would pay doctors, hospitals and other medical providers. the vote down by the senate finance committee was expected. we will take a brief back. we'll be right back. the big winner for the dow today, that stock is up 3.3%, boeing. ( inspiring music playing ) someday, cars will be engineered using nanotechnology to convert plants into components. the first-ever hs hybrid. only from lexus.

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