nice rock. thank you for watching "street signs," everybody. the "closing bell" with bill and mandy is next. i'm going to go yell at herb. today on the "closing bell," it is a plateau. can markets push through more worries over greece's debt deal? and disappointing economic news from asia. plus, tension over tehran. will a defiant iran send oil prices even higher? john schiller weighs in. and progress report. can a new ceo convince the street hp is on the right track again as the company reports earnings after the bell. we'll have instant analysis and investor reaction live from the new york stock exchange. this is the final and most important hour of the trading day. welcome to the "closing

bell." the new york stock exchange, thank you very much, everybody. i'm glad they're happy to show this. >> i'm bill griffeth. i have no idea why the traders are applauding right now. downgrade of greek sovereign dealt, as well as economic data on both the u.s. and chinese economies. we have come off the lows of the session. the dow was threatening to turn positive a short time ago. but we have global economic concerns sending investors into a relative safe haven. gold very strong late this afternoon. we've seen a minor rally in treasuries, pushing yields lower again. gold settled at a three-month high. >> maybe they managed to find australia on the map. let's see where those markets are standing. we've got about an hour to go in the trading day, of course. dow at 12,943.

ooh, and another cheer for something that's going on behind us. the nasdaq is down by about half a percent. the s&p 500 is down .3%. >> the euro down now. bob pisani is back. you ran over to see what the applause is. >> this is what mandy will do for you. two guys sandwiching mandy here. it's the make-a-wish foundation. >> okay. >> a great charity. >> it is. >> absolutely. >> a lot of guys on the floor support the make-a-wish foundation. it's always nice when they come down here. we talked last week about how certain stocks are starting to look topee. it's the same situation. you saw how impressed they were with the greek bailout, because nobody believes they're going to end now. look at the s&p 500. the guys sending out notes about 14 times forward earnings. we're fully subscribed here.

up 8% here for the year. 8.2%. this is the best start in, i don't know, 15 years or something like that. >> and talking about stocks, a deal was cut. >> a lot of companies, a lot of sectors looki ining topy out he. the bank index moving sideways. deutsche banks of the world, barclays, they topped out -- there's deutsche bank, here's an example, they've been doing nothing, despite the probabilities of a greek deal advancing. the other major concern i have is today's housing. we talked about this a while ago. the housing index, this is your major etf you can buy. that's been moving down for several days now. january, existing home sales numbers, good. but not as good as some people anticipated. toll had a 19% increase in

orders. that's good. but still not as good -- remember, these stocks have gone through the roof in the last six months. some are up 50% or more. now the air is starting to come out of them. as a lot of people are realizing, we're going to have a decent spring home buying season, but it's not going to be 25%, 30%, 35% above the orders we saw last year. >> little margin for error after the big run-ups. thanks so much, bob. great to have you back. >> welcome back. >> let's look at some of the other movers and shakers today. brian shactman is back at the mothership. >> let's start off with the heat map. there's a fair amount of positive energy on the top, 2-1 negative. caterpillar is the strongest performer all day. i want to focus at the bottom here. that's walmart. down another 2.25%. take a look at a one-week chart since earnings came out, we're talking rough two days. basically 6% in the two days post-earnings. i don't know if we have that chart for walmart. there we go right there. you see that, boom. been a tough week for walmart.

down 5% in the last week alone. names to the upside, nice earnings beats both for oil service and software company. those companies up 8% and 6.5% respectively. urban outfitters to the upside. and a nice post-earnings follow-through from macy's, up 2.75%. walmart and macy's going in opposite directions. on the down side, new field missed on the top and bottom line. hit from all directions. dell, after the bell yesterday, in the losses, selling from that post, falling through 6 1/3% down to the down side. ing netflix seems to be tirng again. still up 60% for the year. it, too, like walmart, has had a rough week, down about 5%. comcast is going streaming, so

maybe it's because of that. basically financials weak across the board. if you look inside the s&p sector, it's the regionals that are getting hit the hardest. and suntrust is exhibit "a." bill, back to you. >> hang in there, because we'll stick around for the "closing bell" exchange. the latest on how tensions with iran are affecting global energy prices. michelle caruso-cabrera is in jerusalem tonight following the oil story. and the latest on tensions with iran. jon fortt is in silicon valley getting ready for hewlett-packard's earnings. and brian is sticking with us looking at retails as well. the price of oil is at multi-month highs right now in a large part because of the tensions with iran. what's the very latest? what are you witnessing there in the ancient city tonight? >> well, the israelis themselves put on a very tough face, and they say life goes on as normal. at least that's how they're trying to conduct things. but as you mentioned, nine-month high on brent, topping $123 per

barrel, because of the tensions between israel and iran. the latest is that the u.n. nuclear watchdog has broken down the talks, totally broken down because iran would not let them visit key sites. russia is starting to weigh in, warning this country should not in any way attack iran. and when you add all of those situations up, you're starting to see growing tension within the oil market. it's very supportive and bullish for the price right now. there's hope that sanctions are going to work in some form or fashion. but in the meantime, other people are worried about the worst possibly coming, bill. >> you know, the critical point is what iran would do in the strait of hormuz, whether they would try to block that critical area of transportation for oil. but there are those who feel not only with u.s. armed forces being able to stop that, but it wouldn't have that big an impact on the supply of oil. so you wonder how much the premium in oil is, merely just

pure speculation, and not a true reflection of the fear of supply cut off in that area. >> you outlined the whole dilemma, to what degree do you discount in the worst, cutting off the strait of hormuz or something far worse, if there were some kind of attack, what would that mean overall for stability in the region. and the ripple effects that it could have, i think, are part of what's being priced in. the unknown. >> the brent premiums to wti, bill, is widening. another 8% today on the iranian problems. jon, i want to get to you. the pc giants are up for the earnings front. we heard from dell yesterday. we've got hp stepping up to the plate today. what do investors want to hear here? >> such an important report from meg whitman. she lowered the bar last quarter, now she needs to clear it. she said that herself. the pc number is going to be particularly important.

the market was weak. also, printers have been weak. we want to see if that came through for them. then there's the services business, that takes up a lot of revenue. hp needs to hit the mark there. finally, oracle has hurt them in the titanium. they need to hit the eps number. whitman will be in on the call. >> brian, you know, lately, retail's been in focus very much. but we've gotten very mixed reports. >> right. >> from the retail sector, haven't we. >> you look at walmart, which has traded down about 6% in two days. macy's hasn't done so well. and so there seems to be a split. it's more of a stock picker's market. there's not a ground swell momentum in either direction actually. we have upcoming kohl's, gap, target, sears holdings. maybe we'll see a little more pattern in the next 24 hours when they report. i do want to point out, on the back of your conversation with michelle, bill and mandy, in some ways, where we are with oil and gas prices now makes guidance so much more important

than the numbers. because we don't know what's going to happen, if we have a consistent high price here with discretionary spending. that's why it's really difficult to read into the numbers, because we know they're backward looking. the guidance is always important, but it seems to have even added importance on top and bottom line. >> can i just put you on the spot here. i was reading a report that was saying because we've had such a warm winter, people aren't spending so much on heating oil, and that offsets what they're spending more in gasoline. net-net, the consumer ends up with about the same amount of money in their pocket. is that the same kind of thing that you're hearing? >> listen, there's no doubt there's been a tremendous impact and people have saved money in heating their homes. it's a regional issue, because it makes no difference in florida. but it's definitely a fair point, although for some reason, what you pay when you go to the pump feels different than what you pay when you're at home. but it is a good point in certain parts of the country.

>> it certainly does feel painful. >> we feel the pain there as well. see you later as the news warrants. michelle, thanks. about 50 minutes to go before the closing bell. dow marginally underwater. backing further away from the 13 k mark. >> in the fixed income field, the spread between ten-year treasury yields and the treasury inflation protected, the tips is at a six-month high right now. we'll see what the inflation gauge means for the bond market and its outlook on the economy in a moment. >> in today's trade, we'll show you which oil stocks could cash in on the big spread we were talking about a moment ago between brent and wti crude. >> after the bell, chairman and ceo john schiller will tell us how high he thinks the price is headed and what it means for his strip. at some point there's demand destruction when the price gets high enough. >> first, though, we're not going to let you go that easy.

this is how the s&p 500 heat map is shaping up at this stage. more red than green.

stock prices struggle, we had treasury prices moderately rallying on renewed concerns about, what else, greece. rick santelli is in chicago with the details on all that. rick? >> well, you know, today was looking to be the seventh day in 2012 that we closed above 2%. but as we sit right on that level, maybe it's not an assured finale to the trading session. if you look at inter day ten, you can see we've worked our way down. but more importantly, let's look at how long it's been in the range mid-november. what jumps out at you is, yes, we've been moving up, and now we're moving back down, predicated on much of what is going on in europe, and maybe energy prices as well. but right around the 6th of

december, still our highwater mark closing around a 210 yield. we can't even get through the top of the range. traders are cognizant of that and see the same dynamic in other safe harbors like gilt and boone's. the euro is at the top of its range, maybe extending it a bit. it's the dollar/yen getting the most talk on the trading floors. right now as we trade 80/20, and that's off its best levels of the day, these are the best levels for the greenback against the yen going back to july. back to you. >> a lot of explorers out there who are relieved about that move. rick, don't go anywhere, because we want to debate whether or not inflation is really creeping back into the market. some bond investors do think so, because the sprend between the ten-year treasury and tips is at a six-month high. what does it mean for your bond portfolio? let's bring in carl lance with credit suisse, and rick santelli live from chicago.

carl, thanks very much for joining in on the conversation. talk to us about what you're seeing in tips and what that tells us about how people are feeling with regard to inflation on the horizon. >> right, i think most investors are sang win about the inflation outlook. with the fed's commitment, giving a pretty strong hint it will be on hold for the next few years. the economy seems to be recovering. that brings up the prospect of inflation further down the road. you see it expressed at the long end of the curve, and 30-year tips widened out about 30 basis points since the beginning of the year. up to about 2.4%, which actually historically is still pretty low. i think that will continue to go higher. >> am i right in thinking, carl, from your perspective, if you strip out energy and food prices, which are so-called volatile, that you don't see much in the way of inflation in the call level this year? >> i think for this year, core will be pretty steady.

we're at 1.8% on the fed's preferred metric. and there's some reason to think that some of the things that bias that a bis higher like apparel, and even rents, might soften a bit. i think it will be pretty stable this year. energy prices, i think, have more risk to the upside. but they actually end up more of a tax on the consumer and tend to be driving lower core inflation. people have less money to spend on other things. >> rick, back to you. what are the bond traders telling you with regards to how they feel about inflation and what that means for investments? >> first of all, the tips is kind of an odd animal when it comes to fixed income securities. you know, you bid it up if you're worried about inflation, that ultimately pushes down the relative yield, which is now in negative territory for many of the tips, on many of the maturities. and you see the ten-year at the top of its ranges as i described a few minutes ago. and the combination there not only puts the 30s and 10s well above the inflation target, the

pce being the preferred measure, 2% by the fed, but also underscores exactly what carl's talking about. if you're hung up between inflation and commodity prices moving higher, this contract sees through that. and the farkt that it's a six-month high, people are still buying negative yields on tips, means down the road there is a psychology that's worried about it, whether you call it inflation or higher commodity prices. >> it's important with regard to the influence on the market. bottom line here, carl, where do you want to be invested right now? >> i think for the short term, the treasury market is a buy, as rick said. we're at the top end of the yield range. i don't think the range breaks until we get a payroll number, and if it's a bit softer, we'll stay in the range even longer. and for a longer term view, there's still value in the high yield market where you can pick up decent spreads, corporate balance sheets are very strong, and the fed is encouraging everybody to move out the risk spectrum. >> carl and risk, thanks very

much for joining us. >> thank you. >> we've got about 40 minutes to go. as you said, aptly, the dow is marking time right now. the real feature in gold is boom, just in the last couple of hours, up $20 as it marches back toward $1,800 an ounce. >> watching that move as well, with the nasdaq not making it back to the 3,000 level yet. our next guest says nasdaq 4,000 should be on your radar now. we'll break down the charts next in "talking numbers." >> hewlett-packard's getting ready to report earnings after the bell. and when that happens, we'll have instant analysis and market reaction coming up around 4:00 p.m. eastern time. >> as we head to the break thousand, this is how each member of the dow, including hp, which is reporting very soon, are trading right now. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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welcome back to the "closing bell." i'm jon fortt with breaking news on google. 36 attorneys general, that's three-quarters of the total for those doing the math, sent a letter to the ceo about raising concerns about the privacy policy that takes effect on march 1st. they're saying they're concerned it gathers too much information

about consumers, and that it could possibly lead to invasions of privacy, and theft of people's identities. now, this is interesting, because the data that google keeps is not particularly important in that regard. it's not social security numbers, it's not addresses, so google has a defense for this. but attorneys general putting google on notice they are watching these privacy issues. now, over to bertha coombs with a check on the nasdaq. bertha? >> privacy very big issue. likely to loom over facebook as well. nasdaq fractionally lower. we still have 49 new highs, including intuit at an all-time high today after posting better than expected earnings. the company actually saying that its mobile ipad app is the best-selling app on the app store. folks doing their taxes that way. meantime, among those new highs today, microsoft continuing to rack up multi-year highs. ross high, and garmen at a new high.

tomorrow apple will be holding its investor day. it's a drag today, even as credit suisse ups the price target to $600. bill, the big question on a lot of people's minds, will tim cook talk about a dividend tomorrow. >> as he's talking about all the cash he's got. thank you, bertha. let's keep with the nasdaq theme here. as we head toward the close here, forget dow 13,000 for a moment. quietly the nasdaq is off to the best start this year since 1991, believe it or not. is nasdaq 3,000 just around the corner and maybe an even higher number? we talk numbers on the nasdaq. it looks good to you, i guess, huh? >> it does, bill. we don't think the nasdaq goes to 3,000, we think it goes to 4,000. let's take a look at that chart and i'll show you how we get there. we're looking at a long-term monthly chart of the nasdaq to reinforce the significance of this decisive base breakout to a

fresh 12-year high. we also see a confirmed, well-defined head-and-shoulders bottom within the context of that 12-year base formation. finally, you see this air pocket. we're now back in that vacuum that was created by the climactic blow off the top, which marked the end of the dotcom era and saw the nasdaq surge, only to plunge 80% over the subsequent two and a half years. at the end of the year, technicians say the bigger the base, the greater the space. we think 12 years is enough. she trades 4,000. >> are you willing to take it back to the all-time high? 5,000? you're not there yet? >> let's cross that bridge when we get there. >> do you buy individual securities, etf, or what would you do here? >> we love buying individual securities. one stock i love is priceline. what i like about priceline, you get to name your own price. my price is $650. let's look at this chart and show how i get to that number. we keep it simple today. a textbook breakout from a 12-month trading range.

we take the height of the pattern, roughly $100. we add that to $5.50. it gives you your 650 target. a buyer of priceline right here, buyer of the nasdaq composite. >> you were good in math in school, weren't you, i can tell. >> top of the class. >> i'm not surprised. rich, thank you. we're going to be calling rich now mr. nasdaq 4,000, mandy. i'm sure that's coming. >> and we're going to hold him accountable as well. >> yes, we will. >> when we hit the 4,000 mark. okay. the dow is currently down by 29 points, actually losing a bit of steam. the nasdaq is down by half a percent. and we're about just over 30 minutes before the closeing bel. the major averages are still on track for the best january and february percentage gains since 1991. what were you doing back then? will stocks rebound from here or is the rally just kind of running out of steam? our market folks will weigh in next. a major corporate tax overhaul proposal next. i'm at the white house. the president's got a big new plan to change the corporate tax

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welcome back. bob pisani down on the floor of the new york stock exchange. the s&p is down for the first day in the last four trading sessions. what a great start it's been. we're up over 8% since the beginning of the year, the best start in 13 years, believe it or not. it was even better just before we started the day because we were higher. a lot of sectors looking very toppy. that's my theme today, whether it's home builders, banks, materials, they all topped out over a week ago. and several weeks ago. really haven't had a lot of energy since then. there's your major sectors. while energy has been moving forward as oil is hitting new multi-month highs, utilities and health care is the leadership group. and financials lagging. that's a day when the market is still looking for direction. guys, back to you. >> bob, thanks very much. stocks taking a bit of a

breather after the dow hit the 13,000 mark briefly yesterday. is there more room to run and how should investors be playing this market right now. our next two guests say when it comes to investing right now, they remain cautious. >> indeed. amber, in the meantime, joining us, kathy jones at charles schwab, along with dan, director of technical strategy. ladies first, as always. great to have you with us today, guys. kathy, i understand that the key indicator that you are watching right now is kret growth. which, of course, has picked up since late last year. it's still not a level that you feels indicates strong growth in the market. >> we've seen them big up pretty briskly from the lows. but the lows were so low that this rate of growth is still not where we would associate with a really strong economy. so it's picking up, and we've even seen a little bit more consumer credit coming up. not just autos, not just student loans, but actual revolving credit. but it's not at a strong growth level yet.

>> you don't agree with the fed officials who feel they can withdraw some of the assistance the fed's providing the market. you don't feel it can stand on its own two legs yet? >> i think it's a little premature, and the other factor is lack of growth in income. and now gas liens prices are going up, which means disposable income is going to be more stretched after consumers have to pay for gasoline. so still concerned about the lack of income on the consumer side. >> you feel like the fate is clear in the communication, that's going to keep the stance for as long as it possibly can, another couple of years. how do you feel as we hundred up to 13,000, maybe more than fundamentals was based on that. >> a huge portion of it was based on that. we look at the inflation, not just in the stock markets, but in the commodities markets. crude oil, gasoline prices, gold today, silver today, as being a symptom of, you know, monetary inflation. not necessarily fiscal or

economic inflation, or velocity. so very much to me, this is run-up, and a little bit of a speculative overheat. and we could see a pullback. the question is, are they going to continue to come, provide that velocity, provide that monetary stimulus and keep these markets -- >> how much would you expect? >> it depends on what the catalyst is. if we were talking about macroheadlines at this point, you know, something coming out of greece, it could spur on 4% to 5% correction in the markets. which is not major, but it would get you down to maybe 1300 on the s&p. >> it would certainly get this market's attention. what do you do in the meantime? do you hedge, short, what do you do? >> you pick up your pennies off the track before the train comes by. that's what a lot of traders are doing at this point. we're starting to hedge, quite frankly. there's a ton of stocks out there that are seriously extended or overbought. you look at the breadth picture of this market. many stocks trading above something like a 200-day moving

average. look at the main players of the s&p 500, the big five, you know, walmart and apple, microsoft, very extended stocks. you could see a pullback -- >> you're not saying short apple, are you? >> no. that's blasphemy. you could hit an air pocket in had a stock like that, certainly. >> on the fixed income markets, we've been in favor of having more exposure to credit. we like corporate bonds. they've had a good run. i still think this year, though, in fixed-income markets is all about clipping a coupon, earning the coupon, you won't see as much price appreciation. but we'd be more favorable towards credit than, say, treasuries. >> it's not sexy, but you're protecting your money, and that's what you're looking to do right now. >> that's what bond investors are looking to do, provide stability in the portfolio and hold on to your money. >> the ten-year back above 2%. where do you see it towards the end of the year? >> it could drift up, if the

economy continues to go along at about a 2.5% growth rate, we could be at 2.25%, 2.50%. i don't see the ten-year going a lot further than that. >> thank you both. thank you for joining us. right now, the cow, marking time. >> marking time. >> down 21 points at this point. >> okay. well, get ready to trade, because up next, how can you cash in on the big spread we've been talking about. it's getting even bigger between brent and wti crude. >> after the bell, our current oil prices really supported by market fundamentals. chairman and ceo of oil exploration energy 21 joins us for our exclusive interview about an hour from now, 4:40 eastern time. first, before we go to break, the "dividend." which metal is the outperformer so far this year? copper, gold, or platinum? the "dividend" pays off after

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just before the break as part of the "dividend," we asked which metal is the outperformer so far this year? copper, gold or platinum? now, the payoff. platinum.

i'm sharon epperson at the nymex. gold started to shine into the close today mid afternoon, continuing to soar, topping $1778 an ounce, the highest price on record so far this year. and we're looking at momentum buyers that are adding to the gains. you heard about platinum. platinum at a five-month high. and it was the best performer in the metals complex today. a lot of concerns about unrest in south africa, and the impact on production there. adding to the gains to the platinum market. oil prices also on a tear today. we're looking at the highest prices since may for wti and for brent crude. that has to do with iran, of course. we'll have more on that coming up at 4:30. back to you. >> sharon, thank you. we're going to talk more about this spread that exists now between brent and wti that has widened considerably in the last few months, as you saw brent is now at 123-plus dollars with wti sitting at about $106.

what does it say about the future price of oil? and joining us to talk about it is ann cameron, energy research analyst. welcome. >> thank you. >> what is the -- what is going on with this spread? why is brent as high as it is in your view? >> brent is higher than wti, because there's too much oil stuck in the middle of our country. we don't have the infrastructure to get it to the couldn't. it's stuck in curbing, oklahoma. it's really a pipeline issue. >> in your view, does brent belong at $123 right now? how much of that risk premium is just hocus-pocus here do you think? >> in the risk premium in brent, that's a different issue. the spread itself between wti and brent is expected to narrow. we take the view it may stay a little wider longer than people think. >> you don't see brent pulling wti higher here? >> no. if anything, we're very concerned about wti, just because of the increase we see in u.s. domestic production. there is a lot of light sweet

crude, potentially more than people think. >> the gasoline price we pay in this country is based on brent, not on wti. so we're going to pay those prices there. and if that's the case, if someone is forecasting $5 a gallon gasoline in this country, at some point, you know, demand is going to have to keep going lower for gasoline in this country. would that have an impact on brent do you think? >> absolutely, u.s. demand will absolutely have an impact on brent, no question about that. >> but you still see the price continuing higher? >> the discount between wti and brent is not necessarily driven by the brent premium, it's driven by infrastructure constraints, and shale oil in this country. which if anything, our experts out there are underestimating production growth. we produce about half a million barrels a day out of oil shale. we see that going to 3.3 million barrels a day in several years. it's actually a very significant macro chip. i guess the implication is you

and i and everyone else should be buying a truck. >> so a spread over brent is -- >> i think over for quite some time. >> ann, good to see you. >> thank you. >> ann cameron looking at the spread between brent and wti. >> let's take a look at some of the today's business. americans are buying homes at the fastest pace in almost two years. existing home sales rose 4.3% in january, the highest rate since may 2010. and the inventory of homes for sale at a low. home prices continue to fall. median price last month was slightly more than $150,000, down 2% from one year earlier. elsewhere, taxpayers are footing part of a massive legal bill for fannie mae and freddie mac. the inspector general said they've paid more than $109 million in legal expenses in 2004. fannie has covered $99 million for just three top officials. fannie and freddie face several

class-action lawsuits for violations related to the housing market collapse. and general motors is reportedly in advanced talks about a manufacturing alliance. the financial times is among those saying they would focus on vehicles and parts. but they would not be a merger. europe's number two vehicle producer confirmed it is in talks over potential alliances but won't name its potential partners. counting down to the close, about 15 minutes to go. the dow is currently down about 18 points, not doing a whole lot of anything right now. twitter is about to reach a huge milestone. that's coming up next. brian shactman is wrapping up the "under the radar" stocks. >> a lot of people wonder when twitter might go public. we have real estate, music, and headphones, i'll have the details on the stocks and their moves when we come right back. pushing back towards 13,000 very rapidly. >> i think the more people see

that the end of the world isn't here, they can say, you know what, maybe i can dip my feet in the water, get back in the stocks. >> for the first time since may 20th, on an intraday basis, the dow is above 13,000. >> is this new company trying to be the disney of chin ha? >> for sure. they want to have their own brand of entertainment company.

i'm pack on the floor of the new york stock exchange in front of the post where they trade shares of the featured stocks, toll brothers, which is down sharply after the company posted a surprising first-quarter loss of 2 cents a share, about $2.8 million. a couple of factors hurt toll brothers today. contract cancellations came in at a rate of 6.2%. last year at this time, the cancellation rate was 5.7%. home builders delivery declined by 1% to 564 million units.

the ceo points out this is a tough time of year seasonally to engage home buyer interest for the rest of the year. they're taking a wait-and-see attitude for the rest of the quarter. he said it feels healthier right now than it was last year this time. wall street seems to agree. the home building stocks have been very strong for the last several months. you had the -- a lot of stocks in positive territory on a 52-week basis along with d.r. hort horton. so they're keeping a close eye on the home builders. they've been strong lately, mandy, but now we're starting to see signs of wear and tear. >> in the meantime, twitter has reached a very big milestone. first, jon, give us a quick preview of what investors should be expecting from hewlett-packard's earnings before they come out. >> yeah, let's talk about those hp numbers that we're expecting. we're expecting about $34.7 billion in revenue. 87 cents of eps. that revenue number is about 5%

less than a year ago. but given dell's numbers yesterday, particularly given the thailand impact on the hard drives and pc business, we're looking to see did hp benefit or suffer from the same sorts of issues. on twitter, that is the 500 million registered user mark that they have hit. this isn't comparable to facebook's 845 million users. twitter's a little more spammy. you get a few more people signing up for multiple accounts. bots are known for signing up there. i know you've got a few subscribed to you, mandy. nonetheless, an important milestone for that social startup. >> good stuff. they may not be stealing the headlines, but there are some "under the radar" stocks that are nonetheless making moves that have caught our eye today. more specifically -- >> my massive research team, mandy. pharma, after getting picked up as a buy at citi, up 4.5%. huge volume on community health.

it beat on the top line and received a favorable letter from a pension investment group. that has the shares soars 15%. health stream is up 31%. internet learning and research company, strong earnings. my favorite name of the day is almost family. actually it's pretty serious company, 16.5% to the upside. on the down side, lumber liquidators, i won't make a joke, because they definitely make a lot of money here. they did miss on earnings and divide answer was guidance is d. some of the 2011 ipos i mentioned, real estate, music and my single-letter tickers have good years. they're getting help today. zilo up 27% for the year. and pandora down 4.5% but still up 23 for the year. the headphones up 24%. and 27% for the year.

back to you, mandy. >> thanks very much, brian. coming up next, we'll be right back with the closing countdown. after the bell, instant analysis, hewlett-packard's earnings will be out at the top of the hour. but first, this is how the major averages are trading as we head to the close. about seven minutes to go, folks. you're watching cnbc, first in you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide.

five minutes to go before the close here. you couldn't tell it from this week's trading, but we are off to the best start in the stock market in the united states, especially the nasdaq. the best first two months of the year since 1991. more than 20 years. pretty good gains there. but the nasdaq itself this week could see its first weekly decline in two months. and that brings to mind here, i mean, this is ash wednesday, the beginning of lent, a time for soul-searching for the next several weeks here. and that seems to be what's going on in the stock market right now. the dow industrial average off to a great start this year. but now we're starting to see a little bit of soul-searching in the stock market. the nasdaq itself, a lot of soul-searching there.

even though we have rich ross on a little while ago saying he could see nasdaq 4,000 at some point. but we do have what's going on in the stock market. there's the dow, down 37 points today. again, failing to get above 13,000. and then the nasdaq pulling back from that 3,000 level here. part of the problem could be the price of oil. brent north sea, up to a nine-month high right now at $123. michelle martin luther king is in t -- michelle martin luther ki there's plentiful supplies here, that may be what's keeping it lower, even though we're at $106 a barrel right now. but the spread between brent north sea and wti and crude is still very wide these days. look at gold, what it did late this afternoon. as in march, apparently toward $1800 an ounce. up $20, or 1% today after a very lackluster opening.

we're going to keep an eye on that one there. as it starts to sniff some new century marks, maybe $1800, could head back to its old high of $1947 hit last summer. see what the sector, how they did today. the s&p 500 sectors, and where the leadership was in the stock market this day. there's the ten-year note. the yield holding at 2%. let me bring kathy jones in here, 2% had been considered a buying opportunity for a lot of traders. that was the upper end of the range for a lot of buyers. but not now. you wonder why, huh? >> i think there's a lot of concern about inflation, down the road. and i think some of that has to do a lot with the central banks coming in. we've not only got the u.s. with the quantitative easing, now we've got the uk, central bank heading toward quantitative easing. japan, easy credit there.

and that we'll see something out of europe sooner rather than later. >> would you buy tips securities right? the spread between the treasury and the tips is very wide right now. >> it is. and i think if you're at schwab, what we're telling our investors is if you're going to look for that inflation protection, tips, not a bad place to go. you really have to go out long term, though. the short-term tips are at negative yield. you have to have inflation pick up quickly to make that work for you. if you're going to buy tips for inflation protection, you should go out longer term. >> 10 years, 20 years, 30 years? >> ten years and beyond. >> yields are very low. it could be argued that's an expensive price you're paying right now. >> well, when you look at the spread between nominal treasuries and tips, it's around 2.25% or so. if you think inflation is going to average more than 2.25%, tips

still makes sense. >> did i hear you say earlier, you've been advocating high yielding bonds, maybe go cautious on that right now? >> yeah. we've had a big, big move on the lows, well, two years ago, we had a big move in the last six to eight weeks. high-yield bonds maybe a little more cautious, because the yields have come down the spread versus treasuries and versus investment grade has narrowed. but you do think about the coupon and compounding the coupon over time. if we don't have a recession, it's still a place to pick up a little extra yield. >> the message from kathy jones, be patient and clip your coupons right now. bob pisani, we wait for hewlett-packard. yesterday the markets didn't like what they heard from dell. you'll wonder what they do with meg whitman's report in a moment. >> jim rogers, as always, that's one of the first sectors he looks at when he wants to invest