month. >> priceline ceo named one of the best ceos in bar rens. another new high today. maybe we don't talk about it enough. >> all right. that will do it for "power lunch." thanks for watching. >> "street signs" begins right now. and welcome to "street signs" everybody. i am brian sullivan. stocks spiking as gentle ben says low rates are here to stay. with an easy money fed, is it buy, hold the new sexy when it comes to stock sns we'll find out. gas prices surging as well. crude still sky high. who's really to blame for the oil shock? and nearly $400 billion being spent every single year to fight diabetes around the world. a new study says that staples are better than drugs to fight the fat. johnson & johnson likes the news. cleveland clinic doctor first on cnbc with the full results of that study. >> i can't wait. we're going to head to cuba as

well. this is one of the hottest cars around. what is old is suddenly new again. michelle caruso-cabrera will be joining us live. and also best day for major averages in two weeks to start the dow which is on track for a six-month win streak is up 21% over that time. the best six-month stretch since the last six months of 2009. as for the s&p 500 also on track for fourth straight monthly gain and with today's advance now on track for the best quarter since q-3 of 2009. nasdaq hitting a fresh more than a decade high and here's our start of the day. while the markets are rallies, trim tab says u.s. equities will likely see net outflow ths quarter. so, bob pisani, here's my question. i was scratching my head over this. how does that happen? if retail investors are taking money out of equity funtds, who's putting money in? >> it is a bit of a mystery. look here. we're up 12% for the quarter. this is one of the best quarters in a long time. so if the retail guy isn't, pension funds aren't in a big way, doesn't seem like a lot of

insider buying, who's doing it? the answer is cheap money that's out there. fed is providing cheap money. and corporate america's going out and using some of that money to buy back stocks. there's your answer. stock buybacks have been active so far this quarter. about $40 billion have been averaged per month going back to about august. that's according to to trim tabs. one thing that bothers me a little, look at the buybacks in march here. banks around some of their stress test, apple announced a buyback that won't happen until 2013 and the others 44 billion. we still have the average, mandy, but the number of people of companies announcing buybacks has dropped a bit. so just when we've got a big number of banks and apple doing it this month, but not a lot of other ones. that's what i've got my eye on. we have to get them continuing. >> is that just equity mutual fund flows, bob, or does it include etfs? everybody i know is buying etfs, all these life cycle mutual funds people are invested in now

a lot of them are buying etfs. maybe it does reflect the underlying buying just to the etf side not just the mutual funds. >> you can make that argument, yes, it is etfs. and etfs have been growing. however, most professionals still view etfs as largely the province of professional traders. for example, they're not in any of the 401 ks. i'll grant you, there's been some buying by retail investors of etfs, but by and large still the business of professionals. >> thank you, bob pisani. let's check in with seema mody at the nasdaq. the nasdaq at its best levels in over a decade, right? >> mandy, risk-on continues. witnessing best quarter since 1991. the nasdaq 100, the subset of stocks is turning in 12 straight weeks of gains. some money managers saying tech is still cheap and has the ability to run up even higher. when you have a risk-on rally,

you naturally see investors pile into tech. interestingly enough it's not just high beta momentum names adding strength. it's the older tech stocks that are seeing some green today. keep in mind though during the last week of the month we usually see some window dressing which basically means investors are grabbing some of the quarter's best performers to dress up their portfolio listings. >> window dressing, got to love it. thank you very much, seema mody. >> all right. who says that old technology stocks are dead? some of the big boys are looking a little more magic than matlock. intel, microsoft, nasdaq 100 all up double digits this year. intel not trading at levels seen since july 2005. the nasdaq 100 has turned in almost three months straight of gains. and with cheap money still flowing thanks to helicopter ben, do the signs keep pointing to more rallies on the street? maybe does this revive the notion of buy and hold? remember that? with us now chris low, chief

economist at ftn financial and vice president of strategic wealth partners. chris, i'll begin with you. how much of the rally we've seen even off the march '09 lows is simply due to cheap money and the fed versus fundamental undervaluation or the desire to own equities? >> well, it's got to be a little of both, right? youfr got the fed chairman even today saying, okay, i admit it, the job market looks a lot better than we thought it would be. again, making the case we're going to continue to ease because we have to make sure the real economy stays out in front. you know, to me it's really the best of both worlds. and whenever one is right, brian, it's going to continue if you believe the fed chairman. >> but then, chris, just to follow up on that -- tony, i'll get to you in a second, is it a wise idea for the bond traders to be betting against the fed? look in spike of yields aren't they telling us ben bernanke is

wrong? >> no. i think that's a really important point. you do have to distinguish the stock market is betting that the economy's going to stay strong because the fed will hold it up. the bond market is betting there might be an inflation problem. i think that's wrong. the fed thinks that's wrong primarily because demand is just collapsing overseas. so i think the bond market is running the wrong way and will actually get some relief in interest rates relatively short order. >> well, chris, do your clients care why we're up? do they come in and say i'm up and i'm happy, but it's all because helicopter ben and doesn't really matter. i don't care why it goes up? >> my equity clients don't care, but certainly the bond clients care because if that's right, if bond yields are going to go down, this is a terrific buying opportunity for them. a chance to get some yield in the portfolio before it goes away. >> let me get to you, tony, we

were talking about whether or not the idea of buy and hold is back when you look at some of these big tech titans that perhaps had more shadowy days and now making comeback names like intel, microsoft, i know you still feel both of those are undervalued despite their recent run-up. so is the idea of buy and hold back? >> well, to put this in perspective, our clients are high-level executives that are already successful. so they don't have to step up to the plate and hit home runs on a day-to-day basis. they're worried about the strike out. so having these megacap companies in their portfolio, like microsoft and intel that pay a nice dividend yield is part of our strategy. these companies have high earning yields. they have a great dividend yield, which is great for in particular for the technology stocks. these are relatively high at 2.5% and 3% yields. and they also have a high return on capital. that means, you know, they have a strong balance sheet. >> right. >> and they are -- have a

minimal bet. >> but you're saying it's bet tore get the dividend even if say over the last number of years some of these big tech titans might have underperformed and not given you the capital appreciation, you're saying that still rather than deploying my money elsewhere, i just want the dividends? >> the dividend's a good strategy because it allows you not to have to sell low. however, i still think these stocks are undervalued, p/e is under 12% and historically the market has a p/e ratio of 15% or so. >> uh-huh. so bottom line, chris, over to you. what would you do as an investor today? >> well, i think i would be looking at equities although i'd be looking at companys that are doing the bulk of their business domestically. i do think we're going to have some negative surprises on foreign economies this year. that is good for the u.s. though because it will give us commodity price relief. >> and that certainly makes us look a whole lot better. chris and tony, thank you so much for joining us on this monday. >> thank you. >> well, dollar stores should

expect plenty of cash with long-term growth predicted through 2020 especially apparently in california. well, that's according to a recent citi report that came out this morning. author of that report, citi analyst joins us now by phone. thank you very much for joining us. what's the case for dollar stores at the moment? >> dollar stores and significant growth especially in california as you pointed out, we just started to see dollar general and family dollar open for the first time in fall 2011. >> okay. so you're reiterating your buy on dollar general, i know you can't talk about that too much. but you've got here family dollar as one of the ones that you're looking at. why family dollar out of the group? >> so as you look at family dollar, they are, if you will, underpenetrated in rural markets. there's an opportunity there. in addition they recently added a new president and coo who has significant expertise in terms of consumables.

they're at 145 per square foot and dollar general's at 213. so significant opportunity there. and they also have, you know, significantly less existing stores just 7,100 today. we believe they can grow that to 11,000. so 58% by 2020. and dollar general has 10,000 today we believe they can grow to 14,000. large scale growth but significantly more for family dollar. >> if they haven't been well proliferated in california, who is their competition? both of them. >> if you look at the competition as it currently stands, it's mainly the supermarkets, which has actually been closing doors in california. it's a very tough market there. and mainly a union state dollar stores particularly not hedging the labor. they tend to be very efficient boxes. and we think that the opportunity is significant. these retailers are extremely efficient, tend to just have ten employees per store at any one time and a store manager.

they also tend to be priced basically in line with walmart and have really attracted the attention of national brands. they do have a private program, but the real opportunity here is national brands at walmart prices located in your backyard. >> okay. thank you very much for joining us. >> all right. on deck, is your college kid being targeted by credit card companies? again the new loophole bringing together social media and spending. >> plus, doing business in cuba. the island's nation has been seemingly frozen in time due to america's long standing embargo. but there are exceptions. we are live in havana to show you which american companies are profiting and how. >> and don't miss a special edition of "street signs" this wednesday, hiring our heroes. cnbc and nbc news have teamed up with the chamber of commerce to find ways to get our veterans back to work. we are broadcasting live from the uss intrepid all day with exclusive interviews including jpmorgan ceo and lockheed martin

ceo. big great day on wednesday. please join us. we're back after this. to put your cash? here's one you may not have thought of: fidelity. now you don't have to go to a bank to get the things you want from a bank. like no-fee atms -- all over the world. free checkwriting and mobile deposits. now, depositing a check is as easy as taking a picture. free online bill payments. a highly acclaimed credit card with 2% cash back into your fidelity account. open a fidelity cash management account today and discover another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity.

credit card credit card stocks have been on fire. mastercard and visa trading at all-time highs. american express and capital one hitting new 52-week highs. american express is taking to twitter. according to young card holders with special office and they're not the only ones. a lot of credit card companies using social media to sweeten the deal this after they were told to stay away from college kids when the credit card act

went into effect two years ago. joins us is president of consumer education and smart credit.com. what are they doing to the nation's youth? are they skirting the rules, or is this perfectly legal? >> this is absolutely perfectly legal. the card act restricted the ability for the credit card issuers to go on campus and set up all those tables at the student center, at the football games where they're giving away free shirts in exchange for a credit card application. this is what i call the end run. actually getting around the card app restrictions and going cyber shopping or cyber prospecting versus physical prospecting. >> all right. so when we look at the credit card market then, who out there is doing it right? who's doing it fair? who's doing it smart? >> that's the million dollar question. they're all essentially doing it. doing it fair is a matter of opinion. i actually think there's nothing wrong with marketing to kids and adults for that matter on social

media sites. the big boys like chase and amex. they have the best message for young children or kids which is establish credit early, learn to do it right and when you graduate from college you have a card you can use. >> at the end of the day the same risk assessment process takes place regardless how they contacted you in the first place. whether or not they put a flier through your door or twitter, you're fnot going to get the cad until you qualified. >> exactly right. whether you picked it out at a restaurant or applied online or through facebook, it doesn't matter. if you have lousy credit, you're not going to get a good card. this is essentially a sophisticated way to invite you to apply. they're not giving you a pre-approved offer like you're getting in the mail. but it is in fact a less expe e expensive way to court the next prospective generation of card users. >> all right, john, thank you

very much. >> well, media stocks are on a tear. disney, cbs and comcast all off highs. election year spending will power earnings, but how long can that last? joining us now is rbc capital markets david bang, thank you so much for joining us today. >> you're welcome. >> i see here out of a list of stocks you have cbs as the one that stands out for you. what is it doing right? >> well, we're in a really unique period in history where all the sudden companies that had a pretty good business have a fantastic business. what cbs is able to do that it hadn't been able to do in the past is charge cable operators to carry its broadcast stations. so it's getting something like ultimately a dollar subscriber for carriage on cable. and then on top of that it's very, very good at making content and selling that content into all these new digital distribution avenues like the netflix and the amazons as well

as international outlets. so it's really just a golden time for these media companies. >> you know, it's interesting too because you look at the cable companies, comcast, a company we've heard about here, of course our parent company, they're rocketing even more, but you don't have this sort of election spend angle. why are we seeing the comcasts of the world do so well? >> look, i think the election spend thing is almost a sell on the news. at this point everybody knows that the election stuff is running the ad business. what the key drivers are really about, i mean, there are two different things for comcast and the other media companies. the media companies are about the exploitation of all this content and buyback. that's the other thing that's going on. we've never seen that before. media companies used to have extra money, what did they do? they bought other media companies. those were generally pretty lousy acquisitions. now these companies are taking their money and they're buying back stock. the amount of buybacks is just staggering. >> how much of a holdback

though, david, for a number of these let's call them traditional media outlets is the fact they'll have to increase their technology spin quite a bit to keep up with more digitally focused outlet and more purely online outlets. >> i think that's more the case for the cable companies than for the content companies. the content companies really won't have to make much of a major investment in their technology. it's the other -- it's the distributors who probably have to do that. and the upside i think for the cable companies who may have to make the investment is the consumption of broad band is going to get greater and greater as we go out. so it's sort of like everybody -- this is a great time to be in any part of this ecosystem. >> the new golden age of media. we will see. thank you very much for joining us, david. >> you got it. >> in fact, coming up on "closing bell," don't miss les.

quick note on lionsgate, "mad men" ratings up 21% from season 10 premier and the movie called "the hunger games" which did $155 million over the weekend breaking all kinds of records, so very good weekend for lionsgate. >> i think it was $214 million globally worldwide incredible. >> wow. if they can combine them. >> yeah. >> an arrow through the head. i'd watch that. still to come, a new study says surgery better than drugs at controlling diabetes. but are we trading one problem for another? first on cnbc. >> one of the biggest business opportunities sits just 90 miles offshore. and, no, we're not talking about oil. we're actually talking about cuba and the big money awaiting american businesses. that's coming up too. ♪ i'm making my money do more. i'm consolidating my assets. i'm not paying hidden fees or high commissions. i'm making the most of my money. and seven-dollar trades are just the start.

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this is product y. this is a much more expensive product. you will not see a lot of savings with this one... harsh. you chose geico and you did not choose their competitor. was this your first car insurance taste test? venezuela president harrivig for cancer treatment. his arrival coinciding with pope benedict xvi visit to cuba. >> the pope expected to arrive within the hour on the island.

the nation frozen in time due to america's long-standing embargo against the nation. there are some exceptions. cnbc's international correspondent, michelle caruso-cabrera, is live in havana, cuba, right now for you. michelle. >> hey, brian. there are exceptions to the embargo. two, agriculture and medicine. in fact, last year according to the u.s. cuba trade council, u.s. companies shipped $347 million worth of agricultural products to cuba. shipping companies happen to be one of the beneficiaries of this busine business. president of krouly liner services, one of the few companies with a license to transport goods there. i think most americans would be surprised to hear we are shipping from the united states to cuba even though there's an embargo. >> there are a number of things surprising about the embargo. >> reporter: he says despite the decline, his company maintains steady business. every weekend he loads up a ship like this one full of containers

filled with agricultural products and sets sail for cuba. his ship leaves on a 16-hour journey to cuba from a u.s. port that could see business boom if sanctions are relaxed with the communist country. that according to deputy port director. if the embargo to cuba were to end, would your port see more business? >> we believe so. >> reporter: so even though you can ship to cuba as an agricultural company, it is extremely difficult. cuba has to pay cash in advance. those are the rules under which the u.s. treasury has dictated business can be done. or if you're going to do any kind of credit, it's got to be through a third party bank, mostly france. that adds cost to the product. so cuba has been buying parts more and more from other countries. tonight going to tell you a lot more that you didn't know about the u.s. economic relationship with cuba on a special we have coming up at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. brian, mandy. >> what's incredible, michelle,

is the fact that you are there. it would seem that just by your presence you've probably made one of the louder statements you can make about the gentle easing on some of the restrictions. >> reporter: yeah. we have wondered very much about that. cnbc has requested over the years over the last ten years the requested permission to come in and do stories about the economy. i was never told no, but i was never told yes either. we were allowed in for the pope and we took the opportunity so we could see what this economy is like. one of the last nations of communism. these changes, there have been some changes in the economy. talk to the members of the coupe ban government, they're like we are not china in the '80s. we are perfecting the socialist model is the way they like to say it. wringing out inefficiencies from the government. >> thank you so much for that. in fact, we have your documentary tonight, right? guys, don't miss it. it is called "cuba: forbidden

fortune." before we go to break, let's bring up a board and show you what's happening with the three indices. as we sit, we're sitting at session highs. i guess we can safely say thank you very much easy money on both sides of the atlantic. coming up next in the second half of "street signs," oil shocks. some calling for $200 oil, hedge funds already smelling profits, but how can you get in on it at home? >> and all aboard the hangover express. the big money plan to build a train from 100 miles outside of l.a. to vegas. will this gamble payoff? how many billions of your tax dollars will it cost? we'll let you know right after this. is moving backward. [ engine turns over, tires squeal ] introducing the lexus enform app suite -- available now on the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. see your lexus dealer.

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and welcome back to "street signs" everybody. happy monday as well. 90 minutes left in the trading session. let's get you caught up on the day's latest action. well, we had a and welcome back to "street signs" everybody. happy monday as well. 90 minutes left in the trading session. let's get you caught up on the day's latest action. well, we had a rally on our hands. you might have noticed. the dow holding strong in triple-digit territory right

now. up 133 points. a slew of companies, yeah, a slew hitting new 52-week highs. the s&p off to its best first-quarter start since 1998. meantime, could an oil shock however derail it all? the final trades coming in right now with crude. so once again we're hitting or nearing that $110 a barrel mark. speculators and hedge funds are smelling profits. but can you get in on the action at home? we're hitting all sides of this story. we've got an all star panel lined up. let's kick it off. bertha coombs at the nymex. what are we looking at? >> we're looking at a final trade here above $107 a barrel for wti nymex. with these days you really have to watch the brent price. that's the international price, the price where all the gee owe political risk is priced in. and we're above $125 for brent, which is a one-week high. the interesting thing is that gasoline futures continue to outperform the rest of this market. true today with gasoline looking like it's going to settle at a new 2012 closing high. but if you look at it as well over the last month, it has

really accelerated. in fact, the most recent report from the cftc shows that the net positions, the open interest on gasoline futures and options, is at a record high. and a lot of that is to the long side when it comes to managers, mandy. >> okay. thanks very much, bertha. >> well, with oil on the brink of a possibly huge breakout, analysts and hedge funds are already positioned for profits. kate kelly -- i am off my game today. kate kelly joining us with that side of the story. >> i feel like i'm in third grade again. >> you can call my brian shactman, big ears, whatever you want. >> call you lots of things too. >> sorry about that, kate. >> the infamous oil speculators are reaching fever pitch these days with oil futures and nymex crude hitting their highest point in about ten months. brent and wti sailing as high as they've been since last april but still a ways from their all-time peaks from the summer of 2008. how do these trades work? unlike physical oil traders who

buy and sell barrels of crude then shipped across oceans to refineries in the u.s., china and other places, the so-called paper traders deal primarily with futures and options tied to a price they think oil will reach somewhere down the road. a big bull right now might be long futures, short puts or the right to sell oil and long calls. or the right to buy oil. buying shares in the actual oil companies like exxon and shell is a less popular speculative trade. the beta or potential volatility tied to a single stock makes it something of a hairy trade. remember bp? hedge funds and traders making it a lot less attractive, brian and mandy, than simply betting on the future price of oil. >> i guess it's an interesting conversation. why don't we also bring in as to what it means for those playing at home. madison armstrong, director of market research at tradition energy. just a second ago kate was telling us about how essentially this is a market, an area that is very much dominated by the deep pocketed investors, the hedge funders, high frequency players. so for the individual, is this

too risky a space to be in? >> i have to say that i think this is a really fraught trade for somebody sitting at home. we've seen such intense volatility just on friday we saw the wti contract move up about $3 and then down $1.50 inside of two minutes. that's a lot of volatility. unless you've got deep pockets and you can sit in front of a screen all day and take on the trouble of sleeping at night with risky positions, it's not a game for individual investor. etfs would be my way to go. >> that would be my question. they say if you can't sleep at night, your position is too big. getting into that more, what are the etfs you would recommend? how many are there? >> there's a lot of them out there. probably the safest one for an individual investor would be uso, the u.s. oil front. quite simply it's the largest, most liquid. and, you know, therefore it's easy to get in and get out of

positions. the other ones tend to be two or three times volatility. and they can whip around really fast. again, for an individual, i think you have to stick with the most conservative approach. >> doesn't the uso substantially underperform the commodity oil itself? >> right. but if you're in this game just to play the direction, you know, the underperformance shouldn't be that critical to you. if you want to be in on the game and being able to tell your friends at the country club that you're long oil, uso is the safest way to do it. >> there's too much beta associated with an oil company, but for the retail investor, do you think somebody like exxon would be a good investment if you want x pose yur to the commodity but stay for stock? >> if you want exposure, the problem is you have to be careful about which oil companies you choose. not all of them are pure plays on the movement in the commodity price. many of them are integrated, meaning that they have refining and downstream activities such

as selling and marketing. and those can effect the price as well. so i think you have to be really very focused on which companies you want. >> adison, why would i bet against oil at all with iran and israel? what's the possibility that oil's going to go down? >> listen, you just said it. in our thinking, the only thing that higher oil price hinges upon right now is the situation in iran. what happens if that situation never develops? what if we're in a protracted cuban missile crisis that eventually both sides stand down from? >> there is a strange thing going on right now if you look at the brent curve, which is what a lot of global hedge funds do. it's in essentially back wardation which means the oil on a tanker is more expensive than futures. some people think oil is more expensive right now than it will be down the road. >> it's interesting that you say the single biggest thing or the upside oil price hinges on is iran. if we're already sitting at current levels and the global

economy is kind of sputtering along sort of in some areas getting into recovery mode in other areas like china actually slowing down, what happens when this economy really takes off? >> i guess it depends on whether the iran premium is in the market or not. if it is, we're looking at oil prices moving up and challenging levels we saw in 2007 and 2008. >> but realistically what are the chances, for example, of military strike? >> very small. i think it's very small. it's in nobody's interest. that the eventual resolution of this problem is a military one. i think we're looking at a prolonged standoff and maybe we're talking about a year from now we could still be sitting here with a $20 premium in the oil price because of iran. >> and don't forget that the continuing flare ups in the my l east, whether it be yemen, sudan, libya last year, those can limit the amount of spare capacity we have. and that also can cause supply fears.

but what about the demand side? what do you think, for example, about growth prospects in china, which is such a huge crude consumer. if they slowed down, how much of a dent is that going to make in terms of demand? will that ease prices a little bit? >> i think so. looking at the evidence from last week when we got some rather poor economic data out of china regarding their manufacturing pmis, the market sold out of pretty quickly. granted, the chinese government is still a command economy and they can play with the levers and change, you know, sort of the liquidity in their bond portfolios and things like that to try and smooth things out to try and manage a soft landing. but i will tell you there are more and more analysts that we talk to and clients of ours who think that china's heading for a hard landing and are anticipating that will have a direct impact on oil demand this year. >> it's amazing to me how many people talk about china instead of japan. the japanese economy's about as large as china. china just passed them a couple

years ago. japan imports 100% of its oil. if they even have a little bit of turn to economic growth, that will absorb any extra supply that china would not by a slow down there. >> certainly. but i think what that tells you is the market is fully discounting the idea that japan is going to have any meaningful economic growth any time soon. you're absolutely right. especially given the nuclear situation. >> yeah. we forget about japan. they are just as big a china as far as oil and usage goes. china is the buzz word. >> japan's not a growth story. china is. >> for now. >> addison, thanks for joining us. kate, also. let me commend you on choice of channel you have on your desk behind you there. >> it's the only one we look at. >> thank you. hope it's not on mute. >> the check's in the mail, addison. keep it tuned in, we're tackling

demand dilemma. why is demand dropping but prices continue to spike? we will analyze that on "closing bell." coming up next, stocks capitalizing on our bad habits. >> and ride on the desert express courtesy of sin city. here we come on the train to nowhere. stick around. [ male announcer ] what if you had thermal night-vision goggles,

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and i'm and i'm bill griffeth. coming up at the top of the hour on "closing bell," gold's rallying today but well off its highs from last summer. we'll get the outlook for the precious metal. the ceo of newmont mining is joining us to talk about that. and lionsgate shares as good as gold lately. is it a time to take profits or will the stock roar higher thanks to the "the hunger games" rally over the weekend?

plus, ceo of cbs explains how big an impact political advertising will have on his company's bottom line coming up this year. maria and i look forward to seeing you at the top of the hour from the new york stock exchange on "closing bell." see you then. >> we will indeed. casino stocks winning on wall street. las vegas sands up 2.5%. mgm about the same and wynn resorts up by about 3%. year-to-date all cashing in as well. wynn is up only about as half as much as the others. speaking of vegas, construction is set to begin on a new high speed passenger train which would connect, well, sort of southern california to las vegas. it is called the desert express. it's expected to travel at speeds up to 150 miles an hour, which is like china 20 years ago. all end the project expected to cost about $6 billion including mr. taxpayer, about a $4.9 billion federal loan. a lot of critics are calling it

the train to nowhere since it connects vegas not to los angeles but to a town called victorville, which is about an 80-mile drive from downtown l.a. and later on this week on "street signs" we're going to speak with someone about this train from the company because the argument is -- i put this on twitter last night, who's going to drive, essentially, mandy, 80 miles, then park, get on the train. why not just build the train from l.a.? what's the problem? >> i don't know. are there any regulations or rules stopping them from building it all the way to the coast? >> land ownership is my guess. we're going to find out. essentially driving 80 miles then to park and get on a train. does that make a lot of sense? >> mr. taxpayer eventually get their money back, but it will be interesting to talk about later in the week. okay, it's a double dose of incredibly unhealthy sunshine today. americans cannot get their hands on enough fast food and lattes. chipotle mexican grill, cmg, yum

brands also trading at all-time highs. and smoke them if you got them. phillip morris trading at levels not seen since the spin-off four years ago. >> coming up next, one of america's top hospitals touting a diabetes breakthrough. it's not drugs. we'll tell you what it is. >> and everything wrong with the way americans eat when "street signs" returns.

health health insurance stocks are strong in today's rally but generally underperforming this year. that is because of uncertainty over challenges to obama care. the supreme court began hearing arguments today over the constitutionality of the new law. a ruling is expected in june. it has been called the diabetes breakthrough that could open the door to a bit of a cure for type 2 diabetes. >> i was a diabetic and then after the surgery within a few days the diabetic -- the diabetes was much better. and then within a month or two it was -- there was no diabetes. >> that was one of the patients that took part in a cleveland

clinic study that found weight loss surgery is the most effective treatment for diabetes even better than medication. keep in mind, johnson and johnson was a sponsor of the study and they helped make stomach staples. since we spend $400 billion globery on diabetes, this could be big. dr. steve nison is part of the cardiovascular department. doctor, good to see you again. what are the results comparing gast troe bypass to drugs? >> well what happen says we took is group of people 30 to 60 pounds overweight and we randomly assigned them to get either the best medical therapy available or one two of types of surgery. and follow them for a year. and quite remarkably the majority of patients that got the surgery had eliminated their need for diabetic medications. actually, 78% of the people that

were in the gastric bypass group didn't need any drugs for their diabetes. half of them came into the study on insulin. they were off on average of three drugs each for diabetes. the data was just presented today and published today in the "new england journal of medicine." >> doctor, what i would like to know and maybe enough time hasn't past yet for you to be able to gather the data but what rate of people either gained back the pounds or became diabetic again after the procedure. >> it is too early to tell. though other studies, not as rigorous as this one, have shown very good durability for bare at trick surgery, out five or ten years. given the consequence of diabetes with blindness and kidney failure, the ability to return blood sugar to completely normal in so many individuals is very exciting and we think it'll be durable. >> what's the cost difference on

this all in even with counseling et cetera versus medication? >> well, we're doing a cost study. it's not done yet. we want it look at cost, not just in the first year, but out to five years or so. remember that you've got to take medications for diabetes for the rest of your life. these medications are very expensive, particularly some of the newer drugs, it can be 8 to $10 a day. that's thousands of dollars year. bare at trick surgery cost good b 20 or $25,000. that's an lot. they are in the hospital only a couple of days. when you look at the five-year cost of treating diabetes. >> but none the less, for someone trying to weigh up, 20 to $25,000 now, short term pain maybe long-term gain, still sounds like a lot of money. who is picking up the bulk of that? is it reimbursed by insurance companies? what do insurance companies say about this? >> well this will change now. some insurers have been slow to allow coverage for the surgery.

they have said it is a cosmetic problem. but in fact, what this study does is it says it is not just cosmetic. it is about a life and death disease, diabetes. so i think insurers will start to pony up. and i think this operation will become more common. and i actually think in the long run, it'll save insurers money because the cost of the complications of diabetes. you know, bypass surgery, heart attack, strokes, that's where the money is being lost in society, and you can stop the complications of diabetes -- >> is it going to push premiums up for everyone? for example, if you go to an insurer and you're a certain amount overweight, aren't they just goioingo charge you through the nose? >> i don't think so. look, if the cost of treating the underlying disease, diabetes, is greater than the cost of surgery then this could be a very cost effective approach. >> how about not becoming obese in the first place, doctor? >> look, we've tried. all of us have tried -- >> because you are giving up the

fight against -- cd has a report that 75% of americans will be overweight or obese by the year, i think, 2030. >> we're not going to give up. but for those people in whom we cannot control their weight by other means, and who have diabetes, this is a break through kind of a therapy. >> and people who come to you, are they diabetic and obese in all cases? >> yes. >> do you have any people who come to you who are diabetic but a perfectly normal and happy weight? >> no. normally type two diabetes, that's the common type in america, they are already obese. this is not an operation for people who are lean. this is an operation for people who are at least 30 maybe even 60 pounds overweight who have tried medical treatment. these patients were on average of three diabetes drigs, half were on insulin, and they were not making progress. this is not for everybody. but for certain patients, it can turn their lives around as happened for the patients that

you just showed on the program. >> i'm sure that it can, doctor. and nobody is discounting that fact, right? but at the same point, i guarantee we have viewers right now who are saying, why should i, as let's say a nonoverweight jogger who eats right, why should i pay a higher insurance premium because that's guaranteed to what's going to happen, i hear what you're saying, p t is less than the diabetes medication. but they are probably saying, why should i pay more anyway as the rest of the country continues to get more overwigt and obese by which all accounts is generated in large part by lifestyle. >> it is. but there are other lifestyle choices people make. you know, should no one have to pay for insurance costs for someone who smokes? >> i mean, unfortunately in our society, not everybody has a perfect lifestyle. and what we try to do is stand in the shoes of the patient. if you're a patient with diabetes who is in trouble, and there is a therapy that can benefit you, it is our duty as

physicians to offer that therapy. now we can all debate about the costs and we can all debate about the societal costs -- >> do sugary foods pay for this? >> that's a political issue. >> no, it's not. it's an economic issue. why not tax sugary foods to pay for this. why should the guy who lives in colorado, eats salad greens and doesn't drink a lot of clol pal pay for this? >> i i should should talk to congress about this. these are patients in need. you may think that they're a lifestyle choice. but a lot of people think obesity is more complicated than that. i think it is our duty to help these patients. >> thank you very much for joining us. we really appreciate it dr. steve nison. >> a little tough on the doctor but a fair question. i got a tweet here, wouldn't it

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