signs." stop with the apple nasty tweets. >> the market is only down by .02%. "closing bell" coming up next. see you same time tomorrow. hi, everybody. welcome to the "closing bell." i'm maria bartiromo. >> and i'm bill griffeth. >> happy spring. >> you've already played basketball? >> we have a hoop outside of the new york stock exchange. it's for charities. >> she's a success now with basketball. >> i have to be honest, it took me three shots this time to get it in. >> are we going to see the sky hook here? >> i will show you the sky hook another time. >> all you have to do is ask. she'll show it to you.

in the markets right now, thank you for asking. we're seeing losses so far but stocks are off the lows of the day. energy continues to weigh on the broader markets. crude oil falling more than $2 a barrel for a time today. we're going to show you the major averages and the impact that energy has been the weakest sectors in the s&p today as a result. leading the market off the dows, down 52 points. nasdaq down 3 well off the lows. nasdaq now at 3,074. s&p at 1406, maria. >> i want to definitely look at the banks today. $2.50 a barrel. take a look at the stocks here as we approach the final printing and pc divisions in a major internal overhaul.

current pc chief, todd bradley, will receive the newly designed unit by offering a combination of hardware to customers. another technology on the radar, of course, apple. the company facing scrutiny today on the back of the report that the new ipad is literally too hot to handle. in the last hour, consumer reports released the test of the tablet and found that the device does run slightly hotter when using certain applications but notes that it poses no serious harm to consumers. by the way, bill, the stock is still up on apple. >> it hasn't slowed down, that's for sure. >> china's growth is driving the market s china really slowing down or are we seeing a shift where growth has come today. bob pisani is here with us along with ross westgate here at the new york stock exchange in from london. steve liesman joining us from d.c. bob, first let's kick it off with china here. is it really slowing down?

do you think that is what is behind the iron-ore companies, the mining companies? >> first of all, great to see you. our man from london. >> i like this new set. >> you like it? isn't this great? we're on the floor and it's great to have you. but to answer your question, i'm suspicious about this. now, this poor guy makes a comment that iron ore ships into china are going into the single digits. you would have thought china was collapsing in the world markets. all of the material stocks, worldwide was down, china was down. good heavens, look, it's very simple. chinese steel -- the question is steel. the steel numbers of china are getting actually a bit better. they were slow last year. here's what morgan stanley said. the chinese markets are improving. mills are raising prices. steel production is up month over month in february. they are simply pointing out that some of the demand is

slower. it had 24% growth in imports, in iron ore for the last ten years in china. you can't grow 24. it's going to slow down a little bit. i think this is a little overblown and people are long the markets right now a bit and this is an excuse. >> maybe, but at the end of the day you are still talking about the chinese economy moving up from 11% at its peak to down to 8%. even though you're talking about, relatively speaking, very strong growth, 8% is a far move from 11. >> one thing to say about that is, 10% growth five years ago and 8% growth, your total demand is exactly the same because the economy is bigger, right? >> that's exactly right. >> there's no change the marginal demand for products. >> what has been the impact on europe? >> you've seen -- and it's interesting. forget today's moves. if you look at resources in london, they have underperformed for the last month already. there's a lot in the price in

terms of china's slowdown. the ftse is up. dax and ft sechlt -- the dax has a lot of oerts. they have responded to chinese demand and they are down today because they are worried about chinese demand. you cannot keep building roads, airports, buildings forever in china. >> right. >> >> and we've heard from the chinese leadership that they want to start rebuilding away to consumer demand and maybe this is the first indication that that's started to happen. >> and you made a point, 11% growth today is a lot different than 11% growth in china ten years ago. you're working with bigger numbers than you were. 8% is a huge number compared to -- >> because the economy is -- >> the actual number increases. >> the production is going to ramp up their production. >> that's a great point. >> that comment was lost.

>> which was a point that you're making, bob. let's talk about the u.s. economy. steve liesman getting an exclusive with federal reserve chairman ben bernanke. talk to us about that fed that you had with the fed chief. >> well, we talked to him, ran into him as he was coming into the lecture here and we asked him about the current economy. i did it in the -- how would a junior, if he had to raise his hand, how will the economy be different when i graduate? here's what he said. >> you know, the economy's still very challenging. the unemployment is still high and creates problems for everybody. that's the honest answer. but i think the longer term prospects for the country are very good and ultimately things will normalize. but in the short run, of course, we're still dealing with important challenges. >> he said it was an interesting

time because it was overall challenging but things have been getting better. now, during the lecture, maria, he hadew choice words for the gold standard. he spent a lot of the lecture in front of the students object literating it and saying that these lectures are a rebuke to his critics about what the fed has done is rooted in the history, specifically in the great depression. >> as you parse his words to you, steve, on the economy, do you sense that he could leave the door opened to more quantitative easing? >> you know, i would say that the fed chairman right now is worrying about how to hold the line on the 2014 promise. i think -- i don't have any words from this, but thinking about how he's thinking about this, i don't think new qe is on the table. i think the thing that he says is interesting right now is how the fed holds the line, concerns

about inflation, an improving kwee and how the fed will hold on for 2014. >> okay. thank you shall everybody. we'll check in later. >> let's go to other news. big changes at hewlett-packard. nbc confirming that hp is merging their pc and printer units jon fortt is joining us now. jon? >> this is an extremely important shift for hp. tom bradley takes controls of two divisions that are in flux. the revenues were down 15% over year over year. the pribter division revenues were down 7%. a myriad of different challenges there and not the least of which is the thailand flooding which caused hard drive shortages and the shift to pc's bill. >> one other question, a lot of

buzz about the consumer report story on the apple ipad, the hot ipads, how hot they may run on certain apps. what's the view out in silicon valley on that? >> consumer reports said that it ran about 120 degrees is the rate and laptops are too hot. it only gets that hot when you're running high-performance games. that's the sort of thing where you hold the ipad up in your hand. it's a certain type that can put a cover on it and then you're not directly in contact with the ipad. this doesn't look like the sort of issue that's even as serious as antenna gate was a year plus ago and that didn't derail sales of the iphone 4. all of that important to keep in mind. >> stocks are higher as we see they are up another $3. we continue the debref here. there are reports that maybe the on again, off again relationship between yahoo! and alibaba may be on again. are they talking? what are you hearing? >> they are talking.

this i sort of expected. they will come back in again and start talking again. we'll see in those amount to anything but they've got to talk. >> and yahoo! about 1.5%. thank you, jon fortt. we'll see you later. meanwhile, for the first time in six days, rick santelli has that angle. >> we continue to see the treasuries not come off their high yields even though intraday buyers sneak out but then they run back under the rock. look at train day of 5. you can see they are hovering at the highest yield close. as you move down the curve, like a 150, highest yields of the day around 239. here we are coming back. same could be said for the

leader. hovering, as you can see, on the big picture at the highest yield since september of last year. all and all, it's not a profound decision one way o another. we can extend another range above this range or is 350 and 240 going to hold? the jury still seems to be out. bill, back to you. >> thank you very much. heading to the close, i hope you can stay with us for the next couple of hours. dow is down 50 points. we're talking about corporate bonds making a big comeback. how to make the best opportunity? >> also, oracle has lacked the hot technology so far. is that a bargain or a bust right now? we'll breakdown the charts coming up. >> and later, rio tinto getting hit hard. there's a potential double whammy coming out of australia. we'll have the story. >> here's how the red arrows in the s&p 500 are adding up at this hour. a few agree but much more red. you're watching cnbc, the first

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. welcome back to the "closing bell." we have 45 minutes to go. the dow is down for a second time in three sessions tonight. concerns about china's economic growth slowing down the main reason in the market today. pressuring the dow. this is, though, at the day's low it fell as many as 116 points. led by bank of america, citigroup, cme, all up today between 1 and 4%, bill. >> if you're looking for gains outside equities, corporate bonds have been on a terror so far this year. issuance close to $250 billion

in the first quarter alone and money continues to flow into investment grade and high-yield funds rapidly as a result. in february alone, investment grade volume, according to barclays, was $94 billion with $45 billion in high yield. if they do, what should your strategy be? jim cohan is with us from the new york stock exchange. also joining us is mark banford, syndicate for barclays. gentlemen, good to see you both. jim, this is a sweet spot for corporate yields. issuance is up because yields are as close as they are going to get, huh? >> this is a very opportune time. they have outperformed treasuries substantially so far and performed during the latter

part of last year. this is the sweet spot for the credit cycle. credit is improving. >> how much longer can this last, mark, in your view? >> i think it can go on for a while, bill. we're in the fourth refinancing wave for corporates. it's gone on very well for a while and i think it can go further. when we have markets and yields this low, that's exactly what we're seeing. >> yes, i was just reading today, 60% of new corporate bonds being issued are to refinance expensive debt. >> net supply is not increasing that much but the demand for corporate bonds is increasing. the flows into mutual funds have been very strong. as long as those flows remain as high as they are, this very opportune cycle, if you will, incorporatish ga incorporate issuance can continue for quite a while. >> as a general statement we've

been suggesting high yield as owe p opposed to investment grade. it depends on the quality grade, of course, but single b, double b, the better quality high-yield sectors are in the ten-year area yielding 6.5 to 7.5. >> mark, where do you look? do you look investment grade or do you go high yield as well? >> we do all of that at barclays and we've seen strong issuance from all of the asset classes. i would mention securitization as well. it's up over 50% for the year. we're seeing it in high grade, high yield, and securitization as well. >> do you look at sectors? do you go that deep into the woods? >> yeah. it is across the board. i would say -- i would start with industrials. industrial issuance is 60% of the mix right now. so as compared to a year ago

when yankee banks were driving the agenda -- this year it's industrial agenda. they are yielding out the yield curve, repay higher coupon debt. that's the focus this year. >> got it. mark and jim, good to see you both. thank you. appreciate it very much. >> thank you. we're in the final stretch of trading with market down in the double digit. nasdaq under pressure. financial services on the upside today. >> oracle shares have been lower. when we come back with talking numbers, we'll tell you why the fundamentals may suggest that this stock is cheap right now. and then after the bell, stick around for instant analysis to the earnings for oracle. as we head to the break, here's how the big technology stocks have been trading. apple is going higher as is going quell, intel, and cisco

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oracle is slow. apple is now on track to close above 600 today. the stock not too hot to handle a six handle. it seems according to investors. an amazon is part of the strength. getting positive reviews on the acquisition of the automation company keva. >> let me do this first. let me do a stat check on the nasdaq. here is what the nasdaq composite it doing. if we wait long enough, it may turn positive in the next day or so just down a point at 3,077. it was@the low point. oracle trading higher. >> it s we've got just about an

hour left. 40 minutes left to go in today's trading session and all eyes are on oracle. 4:00 p.m. eastern. estimates call for 56 cents a share. revenue for the third quarter for oracle, the last time the company reported, the stock lost 12%. so should you be buying ahead of these earnings, bill said the stock is trading higher. we start talking numbers. on the technical side of the equation, we have mark newton, chief technical analysis. on the fundamentals, covering the name for ubs. gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> what did the chart say about oracle? >> it's hard to get enthusiastic. as we see a chart of the stock, the market peaked up last year and oracle since that time has made lower highs since that time. >> at the beginning of this year

we saw really a downtrend? >> this was april of last year when the market peaked out. we saw a triangle formation. what is interesting, relatively speaking, if you look at another chart versus the s&p software services index, technology overall has had a nice run and oracle has recently started to stall. it has not kept pace with technology. >> why do you think that is? >> well, technically, if you look -- here's a trend line that you can draw. oracle would need to get over $32. that's the key point. although it's had a decent run, tech has had a much bigger run and technically you can bring fundamentals. i want to see it about 32. downside, 28. it would be $25. >> sure, real laggard when you compare it to the rest. >> absolutely. >> present, what do you see with oracle? >> fundamental sentiments.

the stock is cheap. they can reaccelerate the revenue growth in the next fiscal year. they had a could you have q2. oracle has shown their resiliency and ability to snap back. we think next year is going to be a better year. the stock has underperformed and we like that. we think the broader softer index has gotten more pricey. oracle looks cheap at 11 times next year's number. we like the stock. >> you like the stock because the valuation looks good. you're looking at this lagging mark and yet brent is saying that's a positive for an investor. what do you want to hear out of the call tonight, brent? >> i think you need to see mid- to high-digit growth and prove to the investors that q2 is not going to hold them down, that they snap back from bad execution in the second quarter. i think that's going to be key on the license side where a 3% growth and we think that they can beat that number. >> real quick, if the stock trade is up after the earnings

tonight, would you be looking at that as a positive? >> no, not necessarily. i think the stock could have short-term upside and that's a very strong resistance. it would be an opportunity to lighten up on long positions. >> mark, thank you so much. brent, good to talk to you. bill, over to you. >> we'll have instant analysis and reaction to oracle earnings coming up at the top of the hours on the "closing bell." in the meantime, as we head towards the close, market holding steady. dow down 50 points and not showing any signs of wanting to move one way or the other. but the next guest uses this as a pullback opportunity. straight ahead on cnbc.com, jeff cox gives us his call on why he sees an ominous cloud. coming up when maria and i come right back. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 checking the charts. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 looking for support, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 resistance, breakouts, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 a few other tricks that i'll keep to myself. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that's how i trade.

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welcome back. if you're just joining us, the averages are lows off the

session. here's a look at today's movers and shakers. >> 30 minutes left in the trading day, we are off of the lows. concerns on china mixed economic data in the u.s. both weighing on our markets. since we've been talking a whole lot about china, let's take a look at the chinese listed adrs. they are all under pressure. we talked about the solar stocks yesterday and look at the social media and tech stocks today, down 3.2%. any slowdown in china would affect wynn resorts and las vegas sands. both these stocks under pressure. sti tiffany's, though, is back on track for 2012. this is are outperformer. also in news, we have

astrazenega designed to mimic the nicotine effect. news the reason we have target down almost 30%. over to the technology world, how is this for a deal? amazon is selling their $10 gift cards for 5 bucks. ama ma zon is up better than 4%. bill? >> seema, thanks. stoc stocks moderately lower. continuing to find opportunities in certain areas of the market, they are still under pressure. >> stock picks along with chief investment strategist at the hartford. gentlemen, good to see you on the program. bob, your thoughts about 2012. how do you think the market will trade? >> i think it's going to continue to trade higher.

there's a lot of cash on the sidelines. earnings growth has slowed down a little bit but i think we'll see an uptick in capital spending. we're going to see dividends go higher and rotation out of cash and into the stock market. >> you're looking at areas still under pressure? >> we always look at things under pressure. that's kind of what we do. >> right. yes. >> anything with bad headlines, that's where we are looking. >> so where are you looking right now? >> we are looking at europe. in the jake of the global debacle. that's a great example of a company where people yelled fire in a crowded theater, everyone ran out and we ran in. >> that's what happened yesterday with bank of america. a rumor coming out of a the close, stock is up 3% today. >> we tend to look in the

financial area at companies that are smaller, cleaner balance sheets, easier to understand. so companies like jeffreys or federated ingest vest stores or things like that. >> do you see a movement out of fixed income, out of sort of under the mattress, the money market accounts into stocks? we've been noticing that rates are moving higher. i wonder if this is the start of something better. >> we're seeing it move a little better. if you look at the inflow, stocks, bonds, 4 to 1 overstocks. we're finally seeing that gap mare narrowing. the movement in rates, will you see that rotation. the reality is that now investors are realizing when bonds outperform stocks over a one year, three year, five year, and 30 year period, it's time to get off that train and i've got to believe that the rotation is going to be a story in our market in the next six months. >> technology says here you like

google, microsoft, and hewlett-packard. >> yes. >> what, no apple? >> no, apple is one that we missed. >> that's one not out under pressure. >> but when everyone says we think the company's future is very bright. >> you would not put money to work here because of the valuation? it's one of the great companies. would you buy apple? >> you know, we've tended to make up the infrastructure. the companies that are kind of behind everything that you've put on a cell phone or all of the information. >> like in oracle, ahead of the numbers tonight? >> we don't own oracle. it's something that fits in that category. >> what do you like here? >> i like technology. i think that we're going do see -- i think companies are

going to invest in technology over people. i think the unemployment rates are going to stay between the 8 to 9% area. i think that that's where we're going to have to continue that productivity and i, for one, love apple. i shorted it at 300 and missed it, shorted it at 400 and missed it. now i'm all over that trade. >> uh-oh. >> s&p 500 year to date 2012 percentage leaders, sears up 151% year to date. so sears is the leading s&p 500 company. >> we own a few shares. >> following by netflix and amd. >> some of the bad boys from 2011. >> well, you've got to remember, the time we were buying these things, they were not popular and nobody liked them. >> to say the least. >> and maybe the consumer isn't dead and we're also worried about higher gasoline prices. when the market is higher, consumers feel a lot better. it trumps higher gas prices every day of the week. >> exactly.

>> thank you, guys. good to see you both. we appreciate it. >> we're heading towards the close here with my twin. 24 minutes to go. dow is down 54 points. >> find out why a new tax could fair good rewards while hurting industry giants like bhpbilliton. has oracle's wave of action started to pay dividends? we'll find out at the top of the hour. plus, we'll wind up the huge stories coming out of the tech overall. right now you're watching the "closing bell." we're back in one minute. >> announcer: but, first, before we go to break, the dividend. which stock market is up the most so far this year? brazil's bovespa? germany's dax or japan's nikkei? "the dividend" pays off after the break. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future.

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part of "the dividend," we asked which stock market is up the most so far this year? brazil's bovespa, germany's dax or japan's nicky nikkei. it's japan's nikkei which is up 25% to date. welcome back. i'm sharon epperson. we've been telling you about the comments from bh billiton and how much they can pump trying to calm the oil markets and then and due to reduction supplies they have already made. we did have the expiration of

the april contact still skepticism. >> back on the floor of the exchange, it's the stock of the day. this is the one that set the tone for this morning's trade. i'm talking about bhp billiton. kind of a double whammy. they expected china's iron ore demand to flatten out but in fact it may have already dropped to single digits. the other whammy on this was taxation out of australia. the australian senate approving a 30% tax on iron ore and coal mining companies expected to raise more than $11 billion over the next three years. ironically, the idea behind this tax was to spread the mining company's wealth driven by china's growth to other parts of the australian economy. you can see it's come full circle.

it was originally pegged at 40%. prime minister kevin run his job back in 2010. bp shares have been lagging the market overall, running in negative territory since august. in the last year, each of them down 15% year over year. the stock of the day here. maria? >> for sure it is. bill, while you're talking, the market is worsening. ten minutes before the close, we should point off it's well off the close but certainly worsening as we approach the final stretch. up next, cox's call. why jeff cox explains why he's seeing a major warning red flag on the horizon for the markets. as we take a break, take a look at the major currencies. back in a moment on "closing bell." [ camera shutters clicking ] ♪ ♪ ♪

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welcome back. joining me from toronto is john, head of local research group. what is the immediate and long-term impact of the 30% tax on australia and the miners and

the prices for the materials? >> 30% is a better tax than the 40% obviously the long-term impact is going to be the iron and coal space to preserve their profits some way, probably by cutting expenses and we can expect australia to scope of the attack in greater materials and other countries to follow suit. >> what are you telling clients here? if you're an investor riding the wave for several years, what do you want to do if you're an owner of these mining companies in the face of this tax in. >> well, there's a couple of likely things that will happen. the first is, you're probably going to see australia continue to impose larger taxes and probably expand the materials that are covered into other areas that china utilizes like copper and nickel. the problem with that is going to be that these companies are going to cut things like the

exploration. you might want to look at diversifying as an investor your own portfolio to get that back into the other names. and that would include looking at things like cliff resources in north america or maybe a company like coal of africa. >> and you would celery ohio and bhp? is that what you're saying? >> well, i don't think i would stel them because they have long-term protection but it's going to be tougher for them to see upside. >> john, thank you so much. appreciate your time. >> you're welcome. >> bill? >> stocks are lower today but it's been a good year, as we all know. there's a concern that there could be recent gains with the stock market here. >> it's happening right here in our own backyard t kicks off in a few weeks. it could be the worst since the financial crisis. what happens now? we bring in jeff cox, senior writer with cnbc.com. worst earnings period? >> absolutely.

basically, three things going on. >> the estimates are not there, by the way. >> and they are coming down. we've had them -- the worst set of preannouncements since the financial crisis so far. >> but it's -- this period that we're going to be hearing reports about is a time when we're seeing a recovery under way in the economy. why would the earnings be that bad? >> because of three things, basically. you have a max my zags. we have a string of quarters since the financial crisis where earnings have come up. they are pretty much maxized. there is no more investor bill. slow growth in the u.s. economy probably only 2% for this quarter and also europe under the burden of austerity, multinational companies, they are not going to be coming from there. >> the word is that we will see

recessionary numbers. tell us how you look at that as an investor, what sectors are going to fair the best and the worst. >> industrials, technology is going to continue to do well and the consumer stock should still be okay, too. but only four sectors out of the s&p likely to be positive. on the other side, we have materials looking bad and telecom, both expected to post double digit increases. utilities is a surprise to me because you would think that they would be doing well. minus 4% for earnings growth. >> a one-time wonder or do things get better? we're in a period that even the fed is acknowledging is getting better here. >> for the whole year, you're lucky to see 5% growth in earnings. maybe $100 on the s&p 500 to total earnings this year. >> all right. we're going to get a round of applause here because -- >> jeff, thank you. >> thanks for joining us today. the -- ringing the "closing

bell" are 30-ye recipients for highest honor bestowed on members of the military for valor. so they are coming through the trading floor on their way up to the balcony. >> it's the highest award. look at the reaction that they are getting. >> always a great moment. there will be 30 ringing the "closing bell" to commemorate the 151st anniversary of the creation. >> later on in 1958, eisenhower signed legislation charting the congressional honor. it's a proud day for the traders when these recipients come to ring the bell. >> a parade of heroes ringing

the bell here at the new york stock exchange. for more on jeff cox's full story, check out cnbc.com. look for the markets next big worry, a dismal earning season ahead on our website. when he would come back, we have a closing countdown for this tuesday. >> and then it's a huge day of news for the tech sector. stay with us. back in a moment. wow. this is new. yep, i'm sending the dancing chicken to every store in the franchise to get the word out.

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once again, a special day here at the new york stock exchange. 30 members -- 30 military officers who received the medal of honor from the united states are ringing the "closing bell" here. so a huge crowd and a rousing ovation as they make their way across the new york stock exchange. big day here. a little over five minutes to go. a down day. the dow is on a six consecutive positive month. maybe we're grasping at a little straw there. and as you saw some of this attributable to this comment by bhp billiton, that somewhat caused the selloff we saw in

asia and europe. we just continued lower today. it felt more like an excuse for a bit of a selloff. yields continue higher in the treasuries. the yield went up to almost 2.4%. the highest we've seen since mid-october. near the time when we were much lower and we've come off that high yield today. we were at 2.399 at the peak and now 2.35% as we head to the close here. no buyers coming in, down another $19 today as it continues. we mentioned this yesterday as the price of the ten-year treasury goes lower, so does the price of gold. it's acting as a hedge here. oil sharply lower today. the saudis stepping in and saying they will pick up some of the slack if there is a disruption of supply as a result of the conflict with iran. so that seemed to take the bottom out of the price of oil. down $2.48. near the lows of wti at $175.61.

how much higher does oil have to go before it starts to crowd out the stock market? usually they work in tandem lately. but here's a chart going back to 2008 when it hit a high of $147 on wti and this is the s&p. this is the price of oil. i realize we're somewhat comparing apples to oranges because we were in a different cycle at that time. but in broad strokes here, it was about the time that oil hit about 120, $122 per barrel that the stock market peaked and started to go south at that time. is that what could happen at this time if we go that much higher? that remains to be seen. among the sectors, last two were positive. the financials have been the leaders today, followed by consumer discretionaries, utilities and the consumer staples. let me see the other five here and how they have performed.

health care industrials and energy and materials on the downside with the dow down 68 points. chief u.s. equity strategist at morgan stanley, i know you have been cautious on this for a while now. does it make you even more wanting to take profits at this point? >> it does. i'm not tempted to chase the beta rally. i think people are very optimistic about the economy, whether it's housing or and counter to what the fed wants

them to do, perhaps sensing a continuing recovery in our economy. normally you wouldn't want brent, wti up at these levels. our work shows two months lagging from rising oil is when the risk of version kicks in so we're near a rollover because of higher oil. so i think there's mixed signals and i don't think it's pure risk on. >> i think it's going to be mixed it. i don't see a lot of upside at earnings season. in january it came down. analysts were forecasting 114 bucks in earnings. now it's 105. they have taken the numbers down and i think that's still an issue but we'll see how it pans out. >> adam parker,ou