>> theme song in what? if you know, sent us an e-mail. does someone in and you had why know what this is from? someone must. >> it's a good way to start. >> i am serious. >> for kentucky probably. they played at the end of the game. >> right. ♪ one shining moment >> there were cars that -- two cars lit on fire. all kinds of rowdiness. >> to kentucky, congratulations. >> but for as much time as i put into these final four, to start the final game at 9:30 was a slap in the face. they know i can't watch that. i'm not going to stay up at 9:30. i watched vcu play like norfolk state. >> i tweet that had yesterday and people on the west coast

said welcome to our world, we're constantly dominated by the -- >> as it should be, though. if they don't like the time period out there, move. >> they have enough other things going on. >> allow is that budget working out in california with governor moon beam? >> good morning, everybody. welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc. we do want to talk about today's economic calendar. this afternoon the release of minutes from the last fmoc meeting. and economists are looking for the next set of clues to fed easing. dallas fed president richard fisher on "squawk box" yesterday. >> i think we ought to sit, wait, watch and in fact be looking if the economy continues to improve as to how we'll exit from the position we're currently in. not ready to tighten from my point of advocacy, but certainly not willing to support further accommodation either through greater qe or through further

acceleration of operation twist. >> also the commerce tent will be releasing figures on the factory orders for the month of february at 10:00 eastern. and the nation's automakers are going to be releasing their march sales reports. edmu edmunds.com is looking for a 26% increase over february and a gain of nearly 17% from march of last year. and we have a great lineup of auto guests this morning including auto nation ceo mike jackson who will be our guest host starting at 7:00 a.m. >> and he's tweeting that there's huge surprise onset. >> i'm guessing it's an oprah surprise. everybody gets a car. or not. >> how do you feel about that? >> i do know that in fact that is what it is. >> you've been told? >> a special one for you. >> really? a little car? >> what is that? >> i'm guessing we're not going to -- also also joining us is the

ford president mark fields and dodge president and ceo. if you know what the surprise is, go ahead and tweet us. i'm looking for cars. >> i did a tape nothing mike coming on, and as a joke, he likes the gas tax, and i called him auto nation's gas bag and i thought they would redo the tape. i think they're going to play that. i'm apologizing in advance. >> i think i was the only one who heard you say it. i'm like are you doing that again and the camera walked away and it was done. >> he'll laugh. >> hopefully he won't be marching. >> good day to have with march sales. >> and the numbers have been really strong as the jobs have continued to come back, people are creating, getting new cars. >> yesterday accepted truck sales were huge. >> we talked to lebeau who said they had been down i think gms down 33%?

>> and auto nation doesn't cover the whole -- >> the one they think mike has told us in the past is that the truck sales are also a very in reflection of contractors and small businessmen who are coming back in. this is southeastern part of the united states. you wonder if there's a return in contractors coming back because housing has been better in those areas. >> are you thinking that -- i know what you're thinking. >> no you have no idea. >> i'm assuming a joke is coming about whether we'll get sales figures on like bentleys for jeeps. is that not -- >> that's not what i was going to say. i see that you are going to read news about goldman sachs. my mind immediately jumped to 1.54 million for the book advance for mr. smith. and i was wondering whether is that more than you got for too big to fail? >> that is a very big advance.

>> is it more than you got -- you haven't said, no, it's not more than you got. >> that is a bigger advance than i got. >> you got more than that? >> no, that's a bigger advance than i got. >> oh, it is bigger. >> but you sold a lot of books. >> you have to remember you can sell through the advance. in corporate news, goldman sachs -- >> you're the man. >> -- announcing changes to its board. john brian plans to retire in may pschiro has been on goldman's board since may 2009, so he can a little bit after the main event in terms of the crisis. bryan's departure doesn't come as a surprise. he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75. but the position gained new attention last week, a prominent shareholder group said it had withdrawn a proposal to separate

the char man airman and ceo rol. some questions this morning about whether this is the guy that you'd want to be your heed director, whether he would have wanted to use this opportunity to bring on somebody from the outside who was devotquote/unqu truly independent. it goes both ways. >> the union seems satisfied. >> but the question is in this instance whether you would have wanted to take the opportunity to bring in an outsider or whether it's really preferable to have somebody who has been on the board, who has seen what's happened other than the past couple years, has that experience. it's a tale of two. >> you didn't blow the entire advance on a chauffeur. did that seem like a right use of your funds or is cnbc picking that up? how does that -- >> you know, it's very complicated, but $1.54 million, my question is do you think that

greg smith will be able to sell through advance? >> i tell what you i don't like is that you write -- you have certainly the "new york times," it's anti-goldman. it was a no-brainer. they'll print it. so he worked it so well. didn't do so well with goldman, but then worked it so well. send that note -- accepted the editorial to new york time, then shop the book deal. >> only making half a million dollars at goldman. >> he uses the word muppets and suddenedly he' ll ll lly sudden everywhere. he's famous bilking the system. >> he can offer himself up as a bastion of integrity and effort and this was really about changing the system at goldman, that he wanted to effect change within the board. and i would argue to you you that the book deal like this so

quickly on the heels of an op-ed like that changes the dynamic around how people might think about what his motives were. >> i couldn't have said it befr myself. all right. rbc accused of running what it calls a trading scheme of massive proportion. civil lawsuit alleges a small group of senior rbc employees created and managed a wash creating strategy, said to have improperly kooshd pay theed these trades to allow subsidiaries of the bank to buy and sell stock futures without taking a position in the market. rbc calls the lawsuit absurd. and in another corporate news, sec examining groupon's revision of its first set of financial results as a public company. kind of interesting to watch this happen. they're kind of like taking it -- learning as they go on what kind of financials they have. you must have loved this. >> i was out there early --

there's one they think i feel very comfortable about saying that i felt raising lots of red flags with this company, they went through all sorts of problems in the process of getting to the ipo. >> restated earnings. >> and cut revenues in half. restated on the met rick that maybe this sort of gimmick sha sha cannery with the fake metric. >> and you have used the turkish bath, the discount? >> do you want to out me? >> this squawk ward moment has been brought to you by joe kernen. >> i've never been to a turkish bath. >> you're the one who brought it up. >> sorry. that was private. you're right. the "wall street journal" says that the ploeb robe is at a preliminary stage. last friday groupon said it revised its results for the fourth quarter after sdfring ex discovering executives had failed to set aside enough funds. >> auditor said this is a

company that has chronic problems. >> it was material problems with their controls. >> did you watch any of cnbc yesterday after our show was over? >> a little bit. >> did you see faber blanket that coverage? >> he was all over it. >> where were you as a representative of "squawk box" as an m and a expert? >> wait a second. can i defend andrew on this? he was in the middle of conducting an interview, faber had time to prepare for it. >> but he was on every hour just so much -- i mean the compelling information, the proprietary news breaking ability that he brought on. it advanced the story for cnbc. and you were invisible. >> i was invisible. >> you were con ducting an interview? >> no, when the news happened, you were here on the set. >> and your faber interview got picked up by a lot of places. the wealthy people in the world will get their net worth cut in half. >> did the 8 million news get

picked up? >> a little bit. they call it scarred. >> was the network credited? >> are you -- becky -- >> excuse me. >> i didn't think we were going go there. >> australian court says google engaged in deceptive conduct by allowing misleading advertisements to be shown. search results showed paid advertisements for a honda competitor. the court argued that the advertisement suggested that car sales was linked who honda australia. court says paid advertisements don't actually mislead consumers. and news corp facing a call to appoint an independent board chairman. proxy proposal filed by christian brothers investment services amid concerns that the media company needs to pursue more reforms to deal with the phone hacking scandal and other

issues. glaxosmithkline will be pushing ahead with plans to dimming prospects in an increasingly competitive market, but now the company says new data from a series of clinical trials assume the filing of the drug. and an mf global bankruptcy trustee is asking a judge to release $25 million in insurance money. once the funds to pay defense costs for jon corzine and other former officers facing civil lawsuits. if paid out now, it could save them from facing larger claims later, but mf customers saying they have sbigtsed have entitle. the money is frozen because the company is bankrupt. right now time for the global markets report. ross westgate is standing by if london. and, ross, this morning we do see it pretty mixed.

what's happening? >> just hit the session low literally. 100 point gains yesterday. tootsie up said was that they've downgraded their forecasts in terms of -- well, basically contraction will be worse it year and they've downgraded forecasts for 2013. they say it's still official policy that portugal won't need a second bailout, but might be the first step in the road.

xetra dax flat. construction pmi in the uk again coming in better than expected. new orders best levels in 4 1/2 years and like the united states have had very good weather through the month of march. so that is helping sterling maintain this # 1/2 month highs against the dollar. elsewhere, euro-dollar 1.3342, bouncing off the one week low that we've had, with you still very much in the ranges. >> thanks, ross. he cuts a striking figure doesn't he? >> look at that handsome man. >> there he is. >> he's going to do the walk. coming up -- do the dance. do the shopping cart as you're coming over here.

>> wow. >> three gop primaries today. maryland, t.c. and wisconsin. a big day for mitt romney, rick santorum and newt gingrich. also an exciting day here, our special visitor onset, john harwood. good to see you. how are you? our businesses are poised to take off. they're lean, they have their enormous productivity. they've cut their costs to the bone. >> groupon falling 12%. >> this business model, they're making it up as we're following them as a public company when most companies that are less than four years old wouldn't be public yet. >> it is a plane, but it is also a car. $279,000 is the price. they are taking orders right now. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the personal attention tdd# 1-800-345-2550 you and your money deserve. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, that means taking a close look at you tdd# 1-800-345-2550 as well as your portfolio. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we ask the right questions,

tdd# 1-800-345-2550 then we actually listen to the answers tdd# 1-800-345-2550 before giving you practical ideas you can act on. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck online, on the phone, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or come in and pull up a chair. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. demand media expands on the big board.

welcome back to squawk. you can see this futures looking down across the board. dow would open up about 29 points lower. making headlines this morning, australia leaving its key interest rate steady as expected. molson acquiring star bev. $3.5 billion. joe. >> wow. that almost went out there. hi, good. thanks. now to today's national forecast. do we have a delay? we really need one at times. but harwood is here, he must

know i'm cursing about something. scott williams joins from us the weather channel. up is down, down is up? seems like winter came again yesterday. is it going to be warm came back here 1234. >> it will be a clally stabe a . but for new york city, the temperatures top out later this afternoon upper 50s, low 60s. and we'll stay dry, as well. scattered thundershowers and thunderstorms across sections of the plains. snowfall in denver. moderate airport delays likewise as we move into the dallas area. look at the temperatures right now across parts of the northeast and new england. 36 in baltimore. and you can take a look at those frost advisories, freeze warnings that we do have posted for sections here due to the clear skies and relatively calm winds. as we go hour by hour, those temperatures moderate here across sections of the northeast

and new england. by noon, 47 degrees boston, low 50s, new york city, but by say 5:00 this afternoon, we're looking at 60 degrees in new york city. mid-50s in boston. let's talk primary weather. of course we're looking at the conditions to expect around maryland. baltimore, chilly start, but temperatures by this afternoon in the upper 60s. ocean city right around 60 degrees. and then as we take you into the state of wisconsin, better pack your rain gear. we're tracking scattered showers and some thunderstorms around the region. so of course we're looking at temperatures in the mid-60s around madison, upper 50s in mail because key with the clouds and showers. speaking of showers and storms, let's talk about the active radar in the lone star state. we're taking a look at what's happening toward wichita falls, showers and thunderstorms on the move likewise south of oklahoma city. watching for severe weather here later on today. guys, back to you. >> scott, thanks so much. actually this is a great segue.

thank you for telling us the weather in all of those state where is with have the primaries because wisconsin is today's big gop primary prize. and john harwood who did a little bit of a moon walk earlier today, that was brprett amazing. >> part of my repertoire for some time. >> but with the camera moving, it actually looked like -- >> 1985. >> do you remember when mj did that during the grammys? or the american -- american music awards i think it was. i used to try to do it. >> i bet you becky has a smooth one. >> i want you to do the other thing michael jackson used to do like on liler. have you ever done that? >> that move? >> yes. >> you've done that? >> trying to protect himself from joe. that's what really happens. >> but we digress. >> let's and you can politics. can we end the misery today, can

we stop -- >> we've already done that. >> i was trying to, but -- >> many people can. we can. but the question is when does rick santorum make that decision to get out. i was talking yesterday to one of romney's senior people and he said this is a stubborn by, tgu he's poured a lot in and it's difficult to turn off the switch and come to the recognition that this is not going to be my year. he thinks there is still some shot it that romney will step on a banana peel. and it's not -- romney doesn't in fact have the delegates yet. so if some catastrophic wonder occurred in romney's candidacy and santorum is there and newt gingrich has faded in to nothing and he can consolidate the opposition, there is a theoretical case. >> but when do the numbers become impossible? i thought we're there. >> but use would he want to get out? his life is great. >> as a practical haerks when

will the basketball team goes up 30 points with five minutes to play, you say this is over. but they still play the five minutes. and if somebody hit ten three-point shots, then you've for the a tigot a tied game. >> life is good for him. people coming up and saying -- and he has money. what happens when he calls it quits, where does he go? best case scenario becomes a talking head. >> yes, key become a talking head, key make money. he could be involved in the romney campaign and administration potential. the view of the romney campaign is not that rick santorum is playing for something right how other than when it appears on the surface. he is take sustaining -- >> mike allen has new book out inside the circus --

>> is that where all the quotes are from about weighing whether to let romney out more? they're so guarded. and we've dealt with this. it's like cnbc is not a good forum for you to come and talk about, you know, private equity or what you want to do with the economy? i mean, why hide it. maybe that's part of the problem with connecting with people. >> it's a cautious campaign. it is a candidate who does in fact have some difficulty relating to many of the voters that he needs. so when you ever somebody in that circumstance, you protect him. and you've had a series of moments where he's said things that people think are embarrassing or showing him out of touch, and therefore you get more and more gun shy about doing it. i do think they'll go he to a different view because they'll need to. they're behind in the race. they have a solid chance to win.

but at some point you need to a some risks and i suspect that they will get to the point where they'll do that. they haven't done it so far. >> we have rubio on today. i don't know if he'll be the guy. but he's -- >> i wouldn't bet on. >> who would you bet on? >> of everybody else, i'd bet on rob portman of ohio. >> another friend of the show. >> former butch budget director, former member of house ways and means committee. >> but he didn't deliver any hispanics. >> i'm not sure it's about delivering. it's the fact rob portman is unquestion briably capable as serving as president, he would be seen as a pick who reinforceded romney's best qualities, the competence, steadiness. and it would be the 100% anti-sarah palin pick. you look at what happened four years ago and you say i'm not making that mistake. there is no one who would question rob portman's capacity and he does happen to come from ohio which matters a lot.

>> a really good argument. >> okay. what about christie? not christie? >> it could be christie. he is dynamic, he's funny, he eelectricry guys the conserve i have base in some ways. i do thank when chris christie is out campaigning, it's a lot about christie. so you don't slide so easily into the number two role. so, yes, i think he's possible. it's a solid choice. i wouldn't bet on it. tim pawlenty is also another chance. >> chris christie, he was a hot ticket when people wanted will him to run and i just wonder whether four years from now or even the next two years he still will have the sort of energy, the halo that had been around him six months ago. >> his people had to stair thre question in the face. barack obama in 2006, 2007, was

talking to his advisers and david axelrod said you don't necessarily get to pick the best moment for you to become president. this is it now and it may not recur again. minute who anyone who aspires to national office has to recognize it doesn't always stick up to how prepared you think you are personally. >> if he would come on "squawk box" again -- >> i do think 2016 is when the varsity comes out, which is why rick santorum is not likely to be the top tier candidate. >> i watched both hillary and bill yesterday. it was the fakiest denial of her intentions in 2016 i've ever seen. >> nancy pelosi said she thought it would be great if hillary clinton -- >> meryl streep introduced hillary and hillary did this fake laugh. >> i saw bill clinton. >> and then bill clinton talking to luke russert also said, oh, sghet

gets out of it for a while, she'll miss it. they're both -- >> i will be stunned if she runs in 2016. i think there will be a generational -- >> i talked to him off camera about the president's comments and i got nowhere with him. you say this is what presidents do. for me, for a constitutional -- >> no, i'm saying i think the president recognizes that he's got a supreme court that may go against him on a core issue and i think he was preparing the ground for an argument to say -- >> yeah, but is he able to stay that stuff with a straight face? saying the idea that nonelected officials would question a law that elected officials passed that had a great majority. >> it was some what more nuanced. >> 219-212 is not a big majority. >> i agree with you.

>> there's been hundreds of cases where laws were passed by elected officials were considered by the supreme court. this is not unprecedented. >> is there will somebody behind me arguing with you on that? >> no i couldn't get him to argue. deliver it with a straight face and in such a -- sort of a smug way is just so annoying to me to watch that. >> does it show that there's concern? >> he's framing it for the election. >> before the press conference, i talked to a senior white house official who says going down. >> most presidents would never comment on a supreme court case that's pending. maybe after. but never during. >> i'd like to check the record on that. i cannot recall within off the top of my head. i'll bet you it's not the first time. >> may have been done before, but -- >> fdr used to threaten to stack the court. >> but he waited for individual decisions until after. >> i'm trying to remember like

what george w. bush and bill clinton, to what degree they were commenting on stuff that was happening. >> appearing on one of our sister networks, so -- sarah palin chose not comment on previous supreme court decisions, as well. >> that's because she wasn't aware of any of them. >> that was my point but then i decided i'm not trying to say that because i'm trying to help cnbc. >> i don't know harwojohn, than. duo you think the insurance business is a boring one? think again. but first let's take a look at yesterday's winners and losers.

still ahead, interviews with newsmakers you can't afford to miss. florida senator marco rubio, donald trump, and a lot more. it's all leading up to friday's employment report. don't miss "squawk box" all this week starting at 6:00 achl eastern.

insurance companies feeling the pain. president and ceo of uniman.

i feel your pain, but i look at your stock price and you've been through, your predecessor, it was questionable for a while, but then the financial crisis. you're back at 24. just off a high. so things aren't that bad. but low rates make it stuff. >> yeah, i'd say the two headwinds are the employment picture and low interest rates. those two things are things that we in our industry are certainly confronting. and we're actually doing well despite all that. a little different business plan. we actually shrunk our business, focused on markets we thought could be more sustainable. we restructured our investment portfolio and raised capital. that put us in a good position. >> bernanke is trying to address one of your concerns. he's trying to -- you said it's a double whammy. that's the high unemployment but then the low interest rates. so he's using the low interest

rates to try to address the high unemployment. do you feel for him, do you understand the bind he's in? >> i do, but we made obviously important calls to protect and get the economy back on its feet, but i do think the level of interest rates this low this long is actually creating a problem. for those that are savers, those retirees, pension assets, there's a cumulative cost to having low interest rates. >> is the economy still in a position where it's vulnerable to ohio oil prices or europe and it makes sense to stay in this mode. >> and flip to the other side of it. you mentioned employment. we are an interesting sort of -- we have an interesting window into that because our business is to help employers to provide benefits to their employees. so we grow our business in two ways. we obviously attract new employers and have the opportunity to provide benefits to their employees. the second way we grow is existing customers actually adding employees, adding additional wage increases to their benefit package which

actually causes our revenue to increase. and in a normal environment, we see two or three percent growth in premiums because existing customers are grow being their businesses. we're back to roughly break even in that. so there's a pretty big leverage point in that. >> bernanke spoke a week ago about the labor market and said that a lot of the gains that we've seen recently, he thinks are temporary. would you agree? >> the window we have wouldn't suggest that. we're working primarily with both large and small employers, but more permanent employees it actually. fewer part-time employees. so the window we would have would suggest that there will is some stability. as i said, at its low point, we saw that sort of natural growth actually declining two or three percent. we're back to basically a break even. so it's stabilized. by no means vibrant. >> but you don't think it's because of the unusually warm weather in many areas of the country, you don't think it's because people are hiring back and they'll get back to capacity and then stop? >> not from where we sit.

we also by the way don't expect to improve much from here. so we think it's stabilized as a spot where it was causing a bet of downward pressure on our top line to the point where it's basically neutral. so don't see strength going to a more positive contributor to the bottom line sflp do you have actuarial assumptions about when you're investing your premium, where are you now and have you come down? are you realistic with what your prospects are? >> as you can imagine a company like us have all sorts of actuarial assumptions. it's easier in our business. i feel for those that provide retirement based products because those are much more sensitive to interest rates. we actually -- the products that we sell have a long duration, so we buy fixed in-can securities, very long maturityiey maturitie. we have roughly $42 billion of

fixed income securities. any given year, only about $2 billion to reinvest. it's a staggered maturity schedule. so we don't have a lot at risk each year. so we can plan pretty well. we've had to bring the interest rates down, don't get me wrong, but we can do in a mindful, thoughtful way as opposed to dealing with any one week or quarter. >> what's your most lucrative product? would you like a law to be passed where everybody had to buy your product? has an insurance guy is that -- >> i mentioned two sources of growth. it's something we're talking about. >> you're jokinjoking. >> we had a chance to appear before the health committee at the senate. just to talk about how the private sector actually works to provide basic disability insurance in the private sector. and are they learnings that could actually go to the public

sector. but in the course of that discussion, it helped raise the awareness and need for the product, of how we do a good job as a private sector can help the public sector. so those discussions are under way. what they ask has not been decided yet, but -- >> insurance guys will forego all your constitutional rights if you can get everyone to buy your product. >> absolutely. but it's always different because i think the private sector is -- we have an ability i think to help better bridge how we can help the public sector. we did a study last summer that showed that actually for those that have private disability insurance, roughly half a million families per year are prevented from going into impoverish chlt. once they go into impoverishment and draw from food stamps and other programs, it saves about $4 billion or 5 bald yeillion y. >> it isn't about you, it's about the families. >> you talk about it every day.

you have individual consumers who 60% of whom live pay check to paycheck. that doesn't put you in a very good position if you have an issue that causes you to be out of work. >> before you go, and i tried this on you last time, how are you thinking about being a acqu and i say it with the backdrop that you had thought about doing a deal with sun life last year. >> acquisitions are an important part of how we think about strategy. but i must say the market's very -- there's not much activity going on right now. and we worked hard in the 2003, 4 and 5 period to get ourselves more narrowly focused. so it has to fit within the platform of what we do well and it's a quiet environment. we look at a lot but say no to virtually everything. especially when you measure an acquisition against our ongoing business plan will which we feel good about plus the ability to

keep buying boack shares. the bar is pretty high. >> thanks. >> good to see you. when we come back, the picture from the futures pits at chicago. when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment. thousands of environmental samples have been tested and all beaches and waters are open. and the tourists are back.

i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. and on small business saturday bothey remind a nations of the benefits of shopping small. on just one day, 100 million of us joined a movement... and main street found its might again. and main street found its fight again. and we, the locals, found delight again. that's the power of all of us. that's the power of all of us. that's the membership effect of american express.

kevin ferry joins us from the futures pits. and i know you have thoughts about what we've been hearing from the fed. what's your read? >> i think this will be important minutes because they don't have a lot of time to hone their message between the end of april meeting and then there will be another gap before they might have to do something. so i think it's a are beingky one from a standpoint that all the information so far has been

well can diswubursed across the spectrum of do more, don't do more, stay where you're at. so i think it will be minutes that afternoon that are trying to steer i think a little bit more towards a consensus. so i would say heavily editing minutes. >> we've heard from a lot of fed officials recently, two on the show in the last couple of shows, fisher and lacker. and they both gave us the indication that they would like to see rates rise sooner rather than later. and no chance of qe-3. do you think that that is something that we'll see in that consensus or are these the outliers who are kind of making their thoughts known? >> you're going to see this regional type of talk that is much stricter. i might take issue with the fact that they think rate shoes go up. i think that's more bluster. but certainly they need to hone a message that defines what standing pat looks like.

and so i think certainly down here over the past month the market has hyped up the idea or accepted the idea of more quantitative easing. if you're going to disappoint the market or hone that message, now is the time to do it. and then basically what you see is if the economy, people are freaking out, they talk about what they can do. when thing looks better, they talk about what they don't need to do. >> we'll use that as our guide for a what to look for today. what standing pat looks like. that's a great way to go into it. and we need to have you out here visiting us onset sometime soon. >> i'd love to. love new york. >> thanks, kevin. coming up, one shining moment. darren rovell shows us highlights of last night's basketball championship. tomorrow, our guest host is

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darren rovell joins us in the chair. you had to watch it and you had to be here. >> i did. ending time was 12:08. after that on twitter, lexington police scanner was the number one trending topic. peep were trying to find out how crazy it was with people burning down anything they can. one guy was shot, dozens of people arrested. this is just something -- >> there's something wrong with that. >> this is something i just don't get. this is a quote on the lexington police scanner i was listening to. let them light the fireworks as long as they don't aim it at anyone. let's get back to the topic at hand. john calipari finally gets his first victory. with his bonuses he's made $750,000 in bonuses, on top of his salary, $6.1 million. >> how much do the students get?

>> zero. >> anthony davis was the most valuable player, though he only had 6 points but a lot of blocks. one more thing. the ncaa, they always talk about it's about education, student athletes. let's take a look at the sign that we caught on the side. it says that the 2013 men's final four is in alanta. that's a pretty big sign. you can't mess that up pup need to do some spell checks there, folks. and these guys, almost the entire kentucky team is leaving. they're one of these one and donee dones. this is the system. it seems a little disingenuous. >> you have been reading the column -- >> yes. >> do you agree or disagree?

>> on the premise that the ncaa is a cartel ruining students? >> there's a couple things. the ncaa says student athletes. that's kind of what they have to say. a lot of these kids don't value education. but i would say the money -- they don't pay these kid but they can't because of title 9, the one thing have i a problem with is jersey sales. if nike is getting numbers from the school, number whatever, those are the stars of the team, you have to give them royalties. but you can't pay the kids but it is -- it's, you know -- >> you give the kids royalties? >> you give the kids royalties. >> the kids or the college? >> no, the kids. the college gets the royalties. >> but you don't want the kids getting royalties. >> because it's fair to give them money? they don't give college athletes. that's part of the whole thing. >> part of the whole thing, but

if they don't value education, what's the education worth? >> now you're asking the bigger question of what's really happening? >> not good for a one minute tv segment. >> i got 42 right and i didn't get kentucky so i lose. >> you just got to pick chalk. >> people pick the favorite and i like to go against the consensus and vanderbilt, and -- >> go against the consensus, have early bragging rights and don't give -- >> we should give props to liz mcdonald who came in first and she also had 42. >> and nobody hels 42 right. >> i should have bet money. >> i think you should pick it by who the sneaker experience is. >> were there smaller teams nike didn't get? >> no, in 2008 it was kansas, in 2008 it was michigan.

it didn't used to be this type of dominance if you go back. >> next year is kentucky going to be number one? >> reload again with freshmen. that's what it is. >> that's the problem. >> but is that a problem or is that just john calipari doing business? >> no, he's do business but that's the problem with the system. >> bobby knight won't call them a college team. he calls them like the lexington magic. >> they're not a college team. they're professionals that represent the university. it's not just kentucky. >> but there are a lot of schools where they are athletes. >> except when it gets to big ball like this. >> we have to run. >> we do? >> we do. >> "squawk box" is about to go into overdrive. we're coming back with mike

jackson. [ female announcer ] it's time for the annual shareholders meeting. ♪ there'll be the usual presentations on research. and development. some new members of the team will be introduced. the chairman emeritus will distribute his usual wisdom. and you? well, you're the chief life officer. you just need the right professional to help you take charge. ♪ [ dramatic music plays ]d .

leave it to the donald to shake things up. trump speaks out on today's pivotal gop primary, the economy and the crucial jobs number coming this friday. >> the state of autos in america. what the latest sales numbers mean as consumers worry about rising gas prices. we'll go behind the wheel with auto nation ceo mike jackson and ford president mark fields. >> plus, getting back into dodge. we're going to take a look at chrysler'sing about gamble into the compact sedan market. the second hour of "squawk box" starts right now. ♪

good morning, everybody. welcome to "squawk box" on cnbc. i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. a multi-million dollar beer industry deal is in the news. moulson coors will pay $3.5 billion to buy europe's starbev. motorola mobility is currently in the process of being acquired by google. and regional carrier aleejant air is the latest to charge passengers for carry had much on bags. they'll charge $35 to use the overhead bin for bag storage. no, you can't keep the bag on your lap.

aing about that fits under the seat in front of the passenger will still be free. we'll see if this sticks with other airlines as well. take a look at the futures this morning. dow futures down by about 26 points, the s&p off by just over 3.5. >> and the winter was unusually mild in many parts of the country. now the financial impact may be coming a big clearer. jackie looks at the early effects on crops and seeing opportunity. >> good morning, guys. americans enjoyed this year's record breaking march warmth, unseasonably mild temperatures could damage crops and have a big impact on food prices. when temperatures are warm, food ant planneds bud earlier and that can cause problem. for instance, new york, peach, cherry and apple crops have

advanced three to four weeks prematurely. approximately $300 million in terms of apples are at risk. some of the damage might not be detectable until the summer. in new hampshire one farmer was led to believe he might only learn 10 to 30% of his apple crop and 10 to 15% of his peaches. he didn't use any industry techniques to protect his crops as he said these balancing techniques can be risky and cause more harm than good in in massachusetts where cranberry are a crop, farmers are worried about the future of the $1 03 million there. in michigan, the asparagus crop is at stake. there's been little damage so far. the next several weeks really crucial in terms of assessing

how much the damage the cold has or as not had. and nevada, alfalfa. how does this impact food and stock prices? experts are saying it's a little too early to tell. it depends on how severe the carnage is. take a look at the food producer we watch who could see an impact. most have held up. these are the stock prices from yesterday. i looked over the last couple of months and they've still held up. the question is are they going to be able to weather the storm if the weather doesn't comply. back over to you, becky. >> when do they know they've dodged a bullet? do we have another month to go, month and a half? >> some of the farmers i spoke to told me it's the late spring, even the summer. it's all about the vascular systems of plants and you can't tell if they've been damaged yet.

late spring, early summer. >> is it ahan it could work out well, does it lead to crispier apples or something? >> not necessarily in terms of the quality of the fruit or vegetable. there is a potential chance if they bud early and weather stays warm, you can increase yields because can you grow more over the season but some things grow once and that's it. it depends on a case-by-case basis. >> thank you very much. auto industry executives streaming into new york with the new york auto show set to kick off. joining me is mike jackson, chairman and ceo of auto nation. >> i come with gifts. >> can we guess? you said on twitter you were going to have a big surprise. becky guessed. >> let's do them one at a time.

>> i thought it was an oprah moment where you'd say "everybody gets a car." >> these are the models. you're going to get the actual car as soon as we clear comcast legal. just waiting for the liegal sig off. >> can't go to byron nelson, i doubt we can get a car. >> first we'll start with joe. 0-60, 200 miles an hour to get you home a little faster. >> that is beautiful. >> is that perfect for you, joe? >> that's perfect for me. is it gt-3 turbo? >> it is. >> thank you, it's beautiful. >> becky, we know you have an ever expanding family. we don't want you in a minivan. we have a beautiful chevy for you. >> that's pretty hot. >> yes, it is hot. >> that's pretty cool looking

for a minivan. >> and it's got rims on it. >> oh, that's heavy. >> it's worthy of becky. >> andy, we got you a prius. >> a bicycle. >> it more for jeefus. this is the bentley state limousine. of course there's one for the queen and now one for andrew. it is the rarest limousine in the world. only two have ever been built. and a police escort comes with it. >> it's been on my list for a very long time. wow. >> there it is. >> look at it in all of its beauty. >> would you leave the helicopter at home? >> i might. this is going to drop me off at the helipad. >> and those are called stage

coach doors that open like that to 90 degrees so the easier entry and exit. >> can i ask you a serious question, as a limousine liberal, are you going to ignore your huge carbon footprint so can you travel in luxury because the rest of the people, you are don't really care? >> yes. >> okay. like a good caviar -- >> absolutely. >> is the color okay? >> it's like a maroon. >> it's burgundy. >> it's royal. >> i feel royal. >> i like it. >> we're just waiting for sign-off from comcast legal. >> how much does this go for? >> it's priceless. there's only two ever been made. and the royalty -- >> is it over a million dollars? >> it's over a million dollars. the price has never been revealed. it's the state limousine for

great britain. >> if i go down to zuccotti park -- i'm going to sleep down there and then get into my limousine. >> talk talk about numbers. auto nation's march sales look like they're up 12%. we reveiled 25,500 union it's in the month of march, a 15% increase, led by resurgence of the domestics, we were up 25%, including ford being up a 25%. we have the japanese coming back. they're up 25%, led by toyota up 20. another good premium luxury month, up 10% from mercedes-benz up 15%. now, this is interesting. we were strong geographically everywhere, 15, 16% including all the way up from florida to

california. we're sun belt, we're not southeast. headquarters is in florida. of course texas -- >> that's like a same store number, too? >> it's a same-store number, you could adjust it a little bit, maybe 1%. we had more selling days this year. it will be adjusted a little bit for that. i expect the industry selling rate to be very strong. >> that's what you boosted, right? >> we started the year as one of of the highest out there at setting sales, $14 million this year. this morning we're raising that forecast to mid 14 millions. >> that's sooner than you out. >> sooner than i thought. here's what's interesting is we feel the higher gas prices are accelerating sales, not hurting sales. >> how so? >> because the industry is all in on fuel efficiency in every vehicle from crossover vehicles

all the way down to making attractive cars and people are walking in and seeing they don't have to give up size or performance to get a 20 to 30% improvement in fuel efficiency. so they have a need to buy, the need is bringing them in and they see the big gain that's available to them in fuel efficiency since the last time they looked and they say that's a good reason to buy. >> how old are these cars they're coming in with? you're talking about very old cars on the road? >> the average age is an unbelievable 10.8 years now in america. many trades are five, six, seven eight years old but there's a need to replace these vehicles. the manufacturers -- >> aren't these cars so much better that they can last long are? >> they can last longer. but there's no question when industry sales collapsed from '08 through 2011 down to 9, 10, 11 million units, it was a contraction caused by the lack

of financing and economic crisis. it was pent-up demand. >> what's the natural number? >> in my view it's 16 million. we scrap typically 14 million units a year go to the junk yard. you form a million new households at year at least in the u.s. and you need a car and a half per household. so you get to a sustainable rate of around 16 million units. good years could be higher, tougher years could be a little bit less but the natural number is 16 million units. >> make up for year zero, a family is a car and a half. >> this is a car and a half. >> truck sales were fine. i saw your conversation yesterday, i almost fell off the tread mill when you told me truck sales were down 30%. >> match that up. house of representatives does phil get those numbers which came from i forget which one of the major --

>> that was general motors. they were saving if you don't count crossovers, then truck sales are down. >> then trucks from a year ago included suvs? >> they won't further back. if you go back five, six years ago, there wasn't as many crossover suvs, they were all truck based. but that's a little bit like saying, well, the birth of boys are down because if you're circumcised, i'm not going to count you. >> though it's built on a car chassis, right? >> it's built on a car chassis. and if you ask the consumer, it's a truck and it's certified by government as a truck. >> what's left as a truck in. >> very large suvs -- >> like a suburban? >> like a suburban that's a body on frame that's designed for off road and heavy duty -- >> what's a ford explorer? >> it's a car base. >> it's a crossover? >> it's a crossover. and it's a much better solution.

ilt mo it's more comfortable, more efficient. >> chaerokecherokee's a crossov? >> if you included those crossovers as trucks, then what would we see in sales? >> truck sales up 2% to 3%. no question march was a big fuel efficient car month. >> i guess phil's point he was trying to make is that consumers are very concerned about fuel efficiency. >> that was the point he was trying to make and there he is absolutely correct and that's going back to what i was saying earlier that in principle we're totally in alignment that ironically while everybody feared higher gas prices and what it would do to the industry, at the moment what the consumer wants and what the industry is producing is in alignments. everybody has fuel efficiency vehicles to offer.

so we have a match and it's actually improving the pace of sales. so why am i reach surprisivi re? knowing gas prices are going to be higher, it turned out to be a price. >> we never talked about malawi? $22 billion. what do you pay a guy -- >> alan deserves everything he's been paid plus a statue in detroit. >> out of $22 billion in sales -- >> it is an amazing industrial turn around. and it shows you the difference that one person can make at the top of a company. >> i still don't like it. you're okay with that? >> i don't know where i am on it. >> joey votto -- >> he saved the company, he

saved millions of jobs and also was a beneficiary i would imagine some would say of the bailouts. >> no, no, no, he built up his competitors. >> is any company worth what an actor or sandra bullock makes? >> it's also trump tuesday. the donald is going to be weighing in on everything from jobs to the election. first phil takes us on a ride with ford. >> becky, you're going to make a statue for me over here. real quick, we have mark fields coming up next on "squawk box" and the ford sales numbers, best march in five years. we'll run down the number next on "squawk box." >> still ahead this week on "squawk box," interviews with the newsmakers you can't afford to miss, florida senator marco rubio, barry sternlicht and a

lot more. it's all leading up to friday's employment report. don't miss "squawk box" all this week starting at 6:00 a.m. eastern. fiona here was just telling me that ford dealers sell a new tire like...every five seconds, how's that possible? well, we purchase 3 million a year. you just sold one right now didn't you? that's correct. major brands. 11 major brands. oop,there goes another one. well we'll beat anybody's advertised price. and you just did it right there, what's that called? the low price tire guarantee. wait for it, there goes another one. get a $100 rebate, plus the low price tire guarantee during the big tire event. look at that. it's happening right there every five seconds. your not going to run out are you? no. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

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right headlights, the new york all the owe show kicks off

wednesday. the buzz is already building for the latest and greatest, one company hoping to make a splash, ford. we go behind the wheel with one of ford's top executives. phil. >> i'm joined by mark fields, president of the americas for ford. we teased everybody saying it was the best march since 2008, 2007. give us the numbers for march in terms of auto sales. you saw strength, particularly on the car side of the business. >> we had a very strong month, the best march in five years. when you look at what's driving it, really people are looking at our fuel efficient products, our fusion had its best month of and as you know we're introducing the new fusion a little later this year. we had our best march for focus ever. so it was a very strong month. even f series was up 5%. >> a little better than the estimation, retail sales up 11%. you and i were talking before the break.

how much is being driven by people coming in and wanting the fuel efficient vehicle or they're feeling better about the economy? >> it's a combination of all those factors. consumer confidence is better, employment is accelerating so folks who have jobs want to buy cars. people feel better about security. the car pack out there, the inventory out there is the oldest it's ever been. if you're a customer and have a seven or eight-year-old car or a fuel economy of 8, 9, 10 miles per gallon, you say it's time to get a new one. >> do we hit 15 million for a sales rate for march? >> well, we'll see how everybody reports. we could see that. a combination of those factors plus the unknown. it's kind of anecdotal, the warm weather i think helps.

>> i quickly want to ask you about the lincoln mkz. we had the unveiling last night here in new york. you are once again trying to position lincoln so that it's more competitive in the luxury segment. clearly a much more refreshed and aggressive look for the mkz but this is a competitive segment and people look at lincoln, sales relative to its competitors, you're not on the radar right now. how do you get on the radar and do as this put you on the radar? >> well, we think we have a really strong offering here. this segment is one of the biggest in the luxury segment. it's going to grow about 20%. this mark as major milestone in our reinvention of lincoln. it has great technology, really interesting design, craftsmanship. we think it's really going to stand out and has some really cool features to it. >> but it's just the beginning. you realize it's an uphill battle in that luxury segment? >> we have a great foundation in lincoln.

the reinvention of lincoln will take place over the next span of years. >> mike jackson in the studio has a question for you. >> mike, how are you? >> very good. >> i think gas prices at $4 is in line with what the industry is producing at the moment but is there a number where you become so big that you disconnect from the marketplace and the consumer freaks out? and what do you think that number is today? in the past four years ago, five years ago it was $4 a gallon. what do you think it is today in. >> it's probably closer to $5 a gallon. consumers, though they don't like it, they've seen $4 before. they've never seen $5 before. even our f series trucks for the 11th month in a row, v 6s were the marriage of our f series and that's the first time that's happened in 27 years. probably the last time that

happened you were still in the clubs dancing to "like a virgin" by madonna. it's ban loeen a long time. >> people see the fuel economy of their current vehicles and they're saying this is ridiculous, if i can get over 30 miles per gallon, i want to purchase, receipt? >> that's driving our sales. nearly a third of line get at least 30 miles per gallon. i think that is bringing people in. >> when do we see people rotate even more toward hybrids? the fuel efficiency of the standard combustion engine over 30, does it have to get up there to get to the new hybrid>> i th the choice. we're going to have two eco

boost versions and a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid. it's really just giving consumers choice and having ford be there and be available to make that choice. >> mark fields. you heard the numbers here. up 5% in march, best march in five years. when you look at this rotation of cars and trucks, car sales up 2%. back to you. >> thanks, phil. appreciate it very, very much. >> mike, when you try and figure out how long these sales last, how much of it is tied to better jobs, how much of it is tied to people just being spurred to come in because the car is so old or because the better gas mileage is there, what do you think the real issue is? how should we read this as a reflection of the u.s. economy? >> i think the overall economy is still tepid and fragile. you're missing a couple of components that would normally drive a recovery,namely housing and construction.

we have too many homes. you have this huge mortgage foreclosure that's sitting there and there has been no coherent policy to deal with the ish to sort of get housing stabilized and on the road to recovery. every time we sit here we say it's still a year away. i might sit here a year from now and say it's still a year away. you're not going to have a more robust recovery until housing gets sorted out. the banks are still having overhangs on their balance sheets with foreclosures and shadow inventory. the overall economic recovery is still fragile. >> is that a reflection of housing being down and not fixed or is that housing was in a bubble and you're not going to go back to those levels before? >> there was a huge bubble so there was to be pain no matter what. it's being dragged out because there was no coherent policy to

deal with the consequences of the bubble. for instance, in florida if it's going to take two and a half years to three years to foreclose on a home and it sits there and the home is in terrible shape when it finally comes to market, it's just slowing down the day of reckoning and slowing down the recovery. it would have been better to deal with the swags more comprehensively like the auto task force did with the auto industry. the industry took its pain. that did not happen in housinho. >> joe, do you want to take the other side of that? >> no, i'm happy i can buy a gm car. >> i agree as a free market guy, it never should have come to that. in normal economic times you let the chips fall where they may but we had a hundred year crisis.

>> you're talking about the union -- >> and the way it was executed. >> i don't disagree with you. he just thinks mulally makes too much money. >> if you look at the auto task force, every constituency is bittering unhappy back then. dealers feel they got the shortnd of the stick, unions feel they got the short end of the stick, equity holders, bond holders. >> unions doesn't feel like they got the short end. that's bs. coming up, ford is -- they know. 1277 is indicated higher. it is trump tuesday. got a question for the donald? >> sure. >> his thoughts on jobs and the election at 7:30. we'll be right back. >> time now for the aflac trivia question, which rolling stone did jerry hall marry? isn't major medical enough? huh! no! who's gonna help cover the holes in their plans?

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morning, mitt romney hoping to take a significant step towards cinching the gop presidential nomination. he's faefvored in wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c. he has half of what he needs to went the nomination. gm is expected to report a better than 20% increase in march sales versus a year ago. consensus forecasts also have ford posting a nearly 5% rise, chrysler a 35% jump and toyota a 22% increase. still to come this morning, we'll get the specs on the new dodge dart. what's riding on this new compact, fuel efficient car for the chrysler brand? and later, florida senator marco rubio joins us to talk about today's three key primaries and more. "squawk box" will be right back. >> tuesday's trump card. >> why shouldn't i be firing you tonight? >> straight from the board room, the donald gives us his report

on the economy, real estate and the race for the white house. he's next. so -- tell me again what happened. i was downstairs making coffee, and we heard it. it just came crashing through the roof, out of nowhere. what is it? it's our ira. any idea what coulda caused this?

maybe. i just sorta threw a little money here, a little money there. and i loaded up on something my dentist told me was hot. yeah. ♪

trivia question. which rolling stone did jerry hall marry? >> joining us now on the squawk newsline, donald trump who knows the answer to this. i knew the answer to this but i had not personally dated this woman as well. >> it's too easy. >> well, plenty of other people have dated her but the answer is a very, very good businessman and a good guy who watches your show all the time believe it or not, a mick jagger. >> are you kidding? come on! >> no. excellent. >> how do you know he watches? did he tell you that? >> that gives me a lot of satisfaction. >> he did marry jerry hall. a very tumultuous relationship to put it mildly. >> luckily you've never had any of those, donald. >> no, mine are much calmer. >> it's trump tuesday. it's masters thursday. that's coming up. the final four is over. we got to figure out who the vice president of romney is going to be and then i want to ask you about health care, too.

but where do you want to start? >> anywhere you want. i like masters thursday better than trump tuesday personally. >> i'm excited about it. >> that's my preference. i think it's going to be a great masters up. >> saw tiger in total driving was better than everybody. it was only a matter of time, don't you think? >> a lot of people didn't think that a month ago. i've always felt it because he's so talented. he's probably just much more talented. even if he was at 90% he could win. >> and mentally tough. >> he's doing great. we're proud of tiger. tiger's a friend of mine. we're proud of tiger. >> a lot of it was those putts. that's going to be what we need to watch, those six and seven-footers that used to be automatic. >> he's hitting the ball almost better than i've seen him hit it now. >> but trying to pick a masters winner, who was it last year? i never heard of him last year and now we hear about him all

the time. there's great players. do you have a pick besides tyinger? -- tiger? >> we have phil, we have hunter mahan. i'll play with some of them who you don't know and if they're on the tour, they're much better than anyone you've ever played with before. >> kills me to watch a guy. even the guys that are 5'9" and 5'10" and swing very slowly, it's just something about their tempo they can hit it 330 yards. >> it's amazing how long they are. >> where's moorsville? >> it's in north carolina. we bought a club actually yesterday called the point and it's 350 acres, the most beautiful land you've ever seen, really nice. and we're going to be changing the name of the point to trump national golf club north carolina. the people are really thrilled and it's going to be i think a good acquisition. beautiful land.

>> how did you come up with that name, trump in the -- >> it was a hard decision. we hired one of these firms that do that. we paid them $12 million. they said let's go with trump national golf -- >> you pushed back. >> it's interesting. some firms will pay them $10 million, $12 million and they come up with a name and i say i could have come up with something better than that. >> it's amazing you were born with that name. who do you think romney will pick? >> i think rubio will be a good pick. i think c chrd be great. i think bob mcdonald is a great choice. he's from virginia, people like him a lot. he's got a lot of good people. you hear a lot about portman. >> he's a good man.

>> do you see chris christie as a number two, though? >> well, you know, what people don't realize about chris, he's a great team player. he showed that in this case. he's a tough guy and he's a smart guy and all that stuff, but he's also a team player. if it were important, i would see him absolutely in that position and he'd do a great job. >> he has been out early as a romney supporter and he was out there before just about anybody else was. >> he was early and he was strong and his endorsement was very good and important. >> mike? >> donald, good morning, it's mike johnsackson. >> hello, mike. >> our company has big position in florida, arizona, nevada. >> i buy a lot of cars from you, mike. >> we know that. we appreciate your business. you can buy a lot more. when do you see the real estate markets turning there? >> i think they are turned. i bought doral country club in

the middle of miami. >> i think you stole the property. it's the deal of the century. >> it's a great property. i'm happy with it. i feel very strong about that section of the country. i think florida is doing really well. florida is -- they're going to be writing stories about florida pretty soon about how it's doing. it's coming back. pricing isn't what it was five years ago. it's sort of interesting. i sold a house -- i have the all time record for houses. i bought a house at a bankruptcy in palm beach and i bought it for 40 and i sold it for 100 to a russian. i hope he's happy with it. >> i think his daughter is living there, right? >> his daughter is living or somebody. i'm not sure he knows who is living there. >> south florida has had the benefit of exactly what you're talking about, a lot of money coming in from south america, central america, the caribbean. miami is sort of like the headquarters of south america. >> they want to be in miami in

particular. brazil, tremendous money from brazil and venezuela. where countries are in trouble, they're the ones that invest. brazil is really big and venezuela is really, really big in to the miami area. >> donald, is atlantic city going to come back? >> yeah, it's going to come back but it has tremendous competition. i've never seen competition like it. >> what do you think of revel? >> it's going to be very tough for revel. it was conceived in good days and sort of started in bad days and it's opening in not such good days but there's so much competition with all the places opening up. it's all -- there are rarely any -- in the old days when atlantic city opened, it was like a mint, it was a great business. today there are very few of those places left, meaning states because there's so much competition from new york and now they're up in massachusetts

and so many different places are opening. and it's hard for any of them to be honest with you. but atlantic city, look at vegas. vegas was hit very hard and continues to be hit very hard. >> donald, i want to switch the conversation to health care. the supreme court, we've been talking about it all morning. what did you make of the president's comments yesterday in. >> his comments were strange. it looked to me if you were just an observer -- we've all been in course cases where it looks like we're getting all the right signals only to lose but he seemed to be very convinced it was going to pass. anybody watching the trial would say it's going to get slaughtered. the solicitor general had a hard time. i listened very, very carefully to that whole section and he really had a hard time. now, i don't know, does that affect the judges? maybe they vote for him because they feel sorry for him, who know. >> donald, this is mike, it almost seemed as if he was saying that the property shouldn -- supreme court shouldn't have a say in this. just do away with the third

branch of government. from a constitutional lawyer -- >> that's what they're supposed to do. >> talk about a head scratcher. >> had his community activist on. >> go down to two branches of government. >> he was either saying that or he thinks the vote is going to pass. knowing that you never know what's going to happen despite the words of a judge but most observers seem to think that whole law is going to be shot down. so we'll have to see what happens. it will be a very interesting decision. but his attitude was pretty surprising considering how poorly they did. >> he says certain things for certain people but i remember it wasn't a large majority when he said this was passed a large majority. it was 219-212 in a heavily democratic house which eventual li went the other way because of that law. >> they had to use every trick in the world to get through the senate. >> they had to go reconciliation because they lost ted kennedy's

seat because of the law and then you got 2-1 public approval against it. i watch him say these things sometimes and that's where it really gets me. it's politics and it's on both sides, i understand that. the idea that this is the supreme court, this is the first time they've considered whether a law is constitutional? there's been hundreds of cases of looking -- >> let's ask donald a different question then. donald, i imagine you're against the law. >> i am. >> what is the right law? what makes sense on the donald trump platform for health care, what is it? >> that law has brought havoc to this country, it's brought unbelievable hatred among parties. i've never seen anything like what i'm watching and i've been in politics all my life. i've never seen anything like what is going on now. it started and continues to be that law. as far as what should be, we should have a system where you're allowed to compete. have i very nice health insurance for my people but have i one bid.

i'm not allowed to go outside the new york line, i'm not allowed to go outside the country lines. i'm allowed to take so few bids and to have to be within state lines. if you would get -- just that one element, get rid -- i have no idea other than lobbyists that do it because they do it for insurance company purposes, but if i had the right to take 20 companies, all good companies, some based in california and bid out my health insurance policy, i'd have a better health insurance policy for my people at a lesser price and everybody would be able to do it. you can't go outside state lines. it's the most arcane and ridiculous law. it's put there for the benefit of the health insurance companies and insurance companies because that's wait they want it. it's almost like a monopoly situation. it really is like a monopoly. if they would give everybody, not just companies, everybody the right to go out and bid and let's say the only caveat would be have to be strong companies, you don't want to be bidding out your health insurance with a company that was founded two days ago and has no money in the

the bank but the company has to be financially strong and you have to pass a stress test so to speak. but if they would do that, would you get much less expensive health care and it would be much better. and nobody can tell me, i ask them all the time, why doesnn't let competitive bidding happen? it's because the health care companies have all the lobbyists in washington locked up. >> they're going to raise the price for everybody but then you let everybody compete and could to the market price to cover those most in need and if you have to, you tax people to cover this. >> joe, the numbers would be so less and the care would be better. it would be unbelievable. and they don't even talk about it. why don't they talk about it? it was brought up quickly for

one day the last time. >> because this was the first step to single payer. look at the resolve to get this done in the middle of a financial crisis when it should have been all about jobs. look at how this was all they could think of for a year and a half. >> all of obama's political capital, like 1,000% of it was put on this bill and if this bill is ever turned out or badly maimed -- >> look at where we are. >> it will be incredible. >> donald, thank you. we'll see you some day next week you're on. oh, yeah, it's tuesday. >> that is correct. and at some point i'm bringing my children on so that will be a lot of fun. >> we'd love it. >> beautiful. >> so long. >> coming up next, a look at the new dodge dart. and in the next hour, senator marco rubio will join us. take a look at this, jay leno describing what could be a possible ticket come november.

"squawk" returns after this. >> despite being broken, coming in last in the polls, newt gingrich says he is in the race for the long haul, describing himself as the tortoise in this race. that's what he called himself. if he picks donald trump as a running make, they could be the tortoise and the hair. zap technology. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

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we're back. chrysler hoping to make pa flash with the return of a venerable name plate from the 60s and 70s,

the dodge dart. it's the first chrysler vehicle built on fiat's architecture. here with more is the president and ceo of the dodge brand and head of u.s. sales for chrysler group. good morning to you. >> thank you very much for having me. >> you didn't drive here in a dart, though. >> no. >> drove here in a dodge durango. >> the dart comes out this summer. >> it goes into production this month. we'll build about 2,000 in may, 10,000 in june and it brings features and content to the compact car segment that have never existed before. >> walk us through. >> built off the alpha row mayo platform -- >> it's the first time you've done that. >> first. >> classic black or polished wheels, interior roominess,

price point of $15,995, class leading safety, ten air bags, people are concerned a little bit about compact cars from a safety perspective, and the technology in the vehicle is incredible. >> how many are you planning to sell the first year out? >> we'll take it one step at a time. >> how many are you building ahead of august? >> ahead of august we'll probably build about 30,000. >> how many of these can you move? >> i've seen the dart. i haven't had the chance to drive it yet but they absolutely nailed it. it has what the consumer is looking for at that price point, around 15,000, 16,000? >> going to start at 15,900. >> it's great styling, excellent fit and finish all the content and great fuel economy. >> did anyone think do we want to call this the dart? we have great memories of the

dart. >> this isn't your grandfather's dart, though. anybody under 35 we showed them the car, very aggressive arrow, the name absolutely fit. >> now you're trying to hurt me. >> those maybe closer to our age, a little older than 35, you remember the dart. >> i want to throw a dart at the dart. >> it had a great run, 4 million darts in the united states alone and it's still living large on drag strips throughout north america. >> you're going to bring out the k car again. >> this is the first collaboration with fiat. building these vehicles from kblobl platforms is extremely difficult. i mean, ford couldn't do it when they owned the whole company all around the world and chrysler certainly tried to do it with the germans and that didn't work out too well. what's different this time and what gives you the confidence that you have executed this vehicle? >> this is a proven developed

platform, modified for the u.s. market, a little wider and longer, as we're a little wider and longer. >> tell me what it's like working with the germans. >> fiat is a leader in small and compact vehicle and small and compact vehicle technologies. chrysler's traditional strength has been minivan, suvs and pickup trucks. with the two organizations coming together, they really complement one another a lot better there and we did with mercedes. >> if i'm a consumer walking into the showroom, what other shows would i be -- >> the ford focus, chevy cruise, hyundai elantra, toyota corolla. >> and are there other plans to build more vehicles on this platform? >> yes. it will form the basis for

likely our next mid size sedan and spawn a few other derivatives even in our jeep platform. >> it is cool looking, i got to hand it to you up. >> can go a 2.4 liter, tiger engine, and the 1.4 liter turbo engeneral bangs out 180 pounds of foot torque and it's a fun ride. you can get a six speed automatic power tech transmission, a six speed manual and a six speed dual drive clutch transmission. >> like a tiptronic or something. >> we'll get you the tiptronic. >> i can put the whole vehicle in the back of this. >> thank you for being here this morning. >> thank you for having me. >> coming up, florida senator marco rubio will join us with his look at today's primaries and we're going to get him to tell us if he'll consider a vice

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pain at the pump -- ♪ wake me up before you go, go >> raising the fuel tax might help wean the u.s. off foreign oil but is it too detrimental to the economy? we'll debate the gas tax with our guest host alan jackson. >> and coming down from the mountain. larry's revealing his ten commandments for growth. we'll get a sneak peek. >> and florida senator marco rubio will join us at 8:30 a.m. eastern. we'll ask him about taxes, the economy and if he would run on the romney ticket. the third hour of "squawk box" starts right now.

welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc, first in business worldwide. i'm joe kernen along with becky quick and andrew ross sorkin. our guest host autonation ceo mark jackson. >> what a good segue. ford sales rose 5%. that is better than expected. it was the best march in five years for the automaker. shares of ford. can you see the bid and the ask. not so bad. a good day for them. president obama planning to denounce congressman paul ryan's budget plan later today. in a speech to newspaper execs, the president will call the plan, a, quote, trojan horse

saying it's disguised as a deficit reduction plan, it's really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. >> he did introduce a really good bipartisan budget the other day that got bipartisan -- it was 414-0. remember? >> are you being cynical? >> it was 414-0 against it. >> we haven't had a budget in how many years, andrew? >> been a while. >> heal thyself, physician. would you be in a position to talk about somebody else's budget when yours went down -- >> there are people on thor side making it very difficult. >> 414-0, what other side? what about your side? >> he can't get a democratic vote for his budget. >> let's get a check on the

european market stocks under pressure on growing worries of spain's ability to tackle its deficit. the country reporting its jobless rate rose for the eighth straight month. companies in all areas of commit continue to lay off staff in order to survive a deepening crisis. sales just out from chrysler, posting a 34% gain in march sales versus a year earlier. mike probably knows a little bit about this. chrysler's total saves of 163,000 vehicles was its best monthly total in four years. a lot of good news in autoland this morning. >> another interesting -- we just had reid here, we should have asked him the number. it's not being done with incentives. incentives continue to mod wait rai -- moderate. inventories are lean and the inventories we have are in line with what people want to buy. that means profitability at the

industry at the manufacturer, supplier will be excellent. >> art wrote in a question that wants to know if part of it is being written with seven-year lease options? >> that's a very small part of it. i think when you start talking about financing for seven years, it should remain a small part of the business. there are finance companies that are pushing it. i think it's a step too far. but it's not a big part of this recovery. >> like adjustable arms -- >> yeah, yeah, we really don't want to end up there again. >> subprime was a very small part of the market, too. >> i'm always looking for the long run. i don't like excessive insent is and i don't like financing that's too tricky that's going to blow up in your face. >> alley financials that's been having some problems, a company

that people thought might go public eventually? >> their problems are on the mortgage portfolio side. the auto finance business is excellent. >> but what it's going to mean to chrysler and what not? >> it's a legacy from general motors. it also takes care of the chrysler business and there's a big debate whether a manufacturer needs its own captive finance company or can it work with an independent company. so how this going to play out with ali i don't really know. but can i tell you this, as far as their -- >> is it ally. >> ally. as far as their service to us and the support of of the industry and competitiveness of its rates, it's excellent. how it's all going to turn out on the capital side is unknown. >> but whatever happens could impact the auto industry.

>> i'm not worried about that. the financial institutions really do want to lend. they're looking at the home mortgage business, they're still very reticent there. if you have want to get a home mortgage, there's so many hoops you have to jump through. it's a nightmare. and thech look at commercial real estate and they're not happy about that. and then they look at automotive and see the default rate never went above 1%, actually 60 days late never above 1% through the whole crisis and 60 day late in automotive today is 0.4 of 1%. people pay for their car before they pay for tlp house or credit cards. we are number one on the payment behavior. >> you got to pay for your car so you can get to your job. >> so now all the banks and financial institutions are going like this, i got to be in the all the owe business. so there are tremendous focus by financial institutions to get into automotive. >> let's get to our next discussion. it is nearly a daily headline here shont.

gas prices on the rise. our guest host mike jackson think he's has the solution, a gas tax. also joining us now is congresswom congresswom congresswoman marsha blackburn. congresswoman, we want to welcome you to the program. >> thank you. good to be with pu. >> why don't we have mike lay out what he thinks we need, a gas tax and explain with y. >> what did you refer to me as the other day? >> gas bag. i meant gas tax. >> knowing you, you meant gas bag. let's call a spade a spade. i am passionate -- here the congresswoman and i will probably agree. i am passionate about america being energy independent. and i think if you look at north america, we -- north america only imports 25% of its oil today and if you look at the

innovation and technical break throughs we had around natural gas, the same could be applied around petroleum, if we would approve all the pipelines needed weeks could be energy independent in the united states and let china, here donald trump and i would agree, let china worry but b how it gets oil isles from the middle east. at the end of the day you need the consumer to remain focused around conservation and fuel efficiency. at some point you would need a gas tax over decades to gradually increase the price of gasoline to keep the consumer focused on conservation. >> you talked about wanting a gas tax to start immediately in the past. now you're talking about some time frame down the road. >> well two, things have changed. we have an economic crisis and

the economic recovery trumps everything else from health care to gas tax. the economy and jobs come first. second, we already got $4 a gallon. i was talking back when it was 2d a gallon. now we got $4 a gallon. we're giving the money to other people rather than keep it in the u.s. now, there's two conventional wisdoms that we would never d discover more energy in america. well week have. we proven that with natural gas. the second thing is it's a global price. that's not true. you're paying 125 for brent, 100 in the u.s. the sand oils from canada, you know what they are? $70 a barrel. >> congressman blackburn, the idea we need a gas tax eventually at some level to make

sure consumers are very conscious about conservation, what do you think of that idea? >> i can tell you right now that the mom in the minivan who is heading to school with those children this morning is saying i don't want to pay one more penny of gas tax and i do not want the price of a gallon of gas to go up. and here's why. already if you look at the 18.4% federal tax per gallon on a gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon on a gallon of diesel and then the state tax, you're already in most states somewhere between 44 and 51 cents a gallon, that's tax. we are at $3.91 a gallon, the triple a average and we don't even have the summer blends to the marketplace yet. that is going to happen closer to memorial day. we need to say our price is too high, i agree with mike we need

to be energy independent but when we have areas that this administration has closed off and says, oh, we're not going to drill in those until 2017, we've got a problem because we're the saudi arabia when it comes to oil shales in the reserves that are there. the geological survey estimates our reserves in oil shales are as much as 1.5 trillion barrel. when we look at what is recoverable for us, crs, congress al research service tells us we've got 134.5 billion barrels of known recoverable oil right here. this is enough for vae loa very period of time. we need to use our natural resources, concentrate on refining here, produce more

efficient uses and become energy independent butch does it with american resources, with american workers and get this price down for the american marketplace. >> up just laid down an argument for being more efficient with it. wouldn't a gas tax that is eventually rolled in make sure we are more efficient with our resources? >> not at all. i have never met anybody other than a few in washington, d.c. who are the liberal elite who want to go to the gas pump and pay 4d and $5 a gallon. i can assure you -- >> but you would have families who were deciding perhaps to buy a smaller car if gas prices stayed at 4d and above. >> you look at efficiencies that are going to help you in the marketplace. not things that are going to be a mandate and a tax that are prohibitive. and right now the way we are putting the way this administration, this the way this epa is restricting the

ability to get to all of these resources. when you're putting the lands and putting the outer continental shelf, you can't get into the atlantic and pacific coast, you can't get into the eastern gulf and put some of this -- these rigs to work out there, the offshore rigs. what we are doing where you're seeing increased exploration in the u.s. is on private and state lands. not on federal lands. >> that's right. >> and so what we need to do is say the policy is wrong and this administration needs to reverse some of these prohibitions that they put in place on getting to the natural resources that we have. that is a way to send a message to saudi arabia. that's a way to send a message to china. that's a way to send an opec message and say, look, we are going to be good stewards of the resources we have and we're

going o get in behind this and get the price down. >> i was trying to figure out let's see, if we took the tax and said it had to be a used for deficit reduction, the deficit would be reason deuce and they'd spend more somewhere else. well, i think say it has to go to this and they take social security. they see any money anywhere and they spend it. can you just be morally opposed to taxing -- >> you and i have had this discussion. >> right. i don't think i could ever be for it. >> gas taxes are dedicated taxes already. that's a dedicated revenue stream. what you need to be looking at this when you recover that barrel of oil, let's save you get into -- let's just say you opened up anwar. we wouldn't even have to be importing oil from saudi arabia because we get 1.4 million barrels coming out of there every day and you wouldn't even

have to import oil from saudi arabia. now, what this also does in addition to the price at the pump in the digs to gas loon and diesel, you look at all your petroleum byproducts that you're bringing, packaging and how that affects the price of grocery, delivery and transport. the price of fertilizer. i was meeting with farmers yesterday. this is one of the discussions we had, the cost of petroleum-based products because we are not using our natural resources and how that escalates the price and, therefore, of course everything in your food supply chain is going to cost more. everything in your logistics and transportation chain, it is going to cost you more. and you have mom in the minivan, which is a lot of people that, you know, they're my friends and neighbors and they're pulling up to fill up that gas tank, it is

costing them more. they're rolling that cart down the grocery star, it is costing them more. all of these feefs for their children and then they can't find a light bulb that they want. do we have an energy policy that doesn't work? you're exactly right. >> thank you very much for your time. >> coming up being larry kud loch has ten commandments for growth. more than 150 million professionals

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we're back this morning. nice shot of washington there. just a quick bit of breaking news. there's a report that britain's sky news saying james murdoch is stepping down as chairman of bskyb. this is the latest shoe to drop on this news. we'll keep watching this. in the moon too many larry kudlow is here to unveil his ten commandments of growth this week. he's got a couple of more for us this morning. >> good morning, andrew. >> i've been watching these promos, these commercials with

you. sounds like a lot of regulations. aren't there enough regulations? you got more? >> it's a pretty typical kudlow pro growth, economic freedom agenda. limited government, lower spending, pro growth tax reform, bring the rates down. i want a strong king dollar, which think is an issue out there, i am a free trader and i do favor the repeal and doover of obamacare. >> do you prefer repeal to the supreme court just tossing it out, all it have? >> i'd like to start over given. >> if they threw it out you could. >> yes, indeed. if you started over and emphasized not government control but let's have pro market consumer choices, let's cross interstate line, let's stop the -- let's have some tort

reform so these frivolous lawsuit, things like that. i'm not an expert in every detail of health care. >> larry's absolutely right. on the one hand we have new regulations every day from washington. the rule making is staggering. our health care guide gooi has a shopping cart that he goes around the office with all these rules that are stacking up. our company over the last ten years, we've only had 2% in increases on health care. choice and personal responsibility. we gave our associate as menu to choose from as best we can with the state restrictions and then we incent them not to smoke, not to be obese. they have co-pays and they have a stake in the management of their health care. we reward them for being healthy. when they have issues, they have to make the right decisions and spend the money economically.

when it was all free, it was out of control. >> there's too much free if this package. that's one of the big issues why employers are going to put a lot of people in the insurance pool. >> which lab disaster. >> in fiscal terms, you're going to bankrupt this country, if we're not bankrupted already. these these early estimates may double given. we can't afford this maze of new entitlements. so one my commandments is to try to repeal obamacare and start over again. >> what is the answer? how do you ensure all those who are currently not insured? by the way, we're still paying the bill. >> i think one of of the keefe principles here is to give the tax break to the individual and let that person shop around for the best deal. i think there's always going to be a safety net. you got about 20 million people out there that would like insurance and can't afford it

but that's not 100 million people. i would say either figure out a way to subs died them between evened and state or let them have the tax breck. so the insent -- you're into the going to bend the cost curve. you're not going to bend the cost curve by free market competition. >> and those who decide they don't want to spend it and show up at the hospital, what are you going to do? >> i think you live with that. i think that's an exaggerated argument in terms -- >> not if you're a hospital worker. >> in some urban areas, that's a big issue. you try to identify those people and figure out what to do with them but i don't think you should have a government takeover of the whole system based on this one glitch. i think that's been the problem from day one. by the way, these hospital operators, we've had some of them on our show. they may roo the day p day because of governor restricting

thereof bfts. >> they were very wary of this coming in but it's a super problem that there are mmming without insurance showing up on their door. >> we need a strong king dollar. >> the music playing us out. don't miss more on larry's show tonight at 7:00 eastern time. we're come beiie coming back ri the break.

coming up, our newsmaker of the hour. marco rubio will join us after this short break. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550

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welcome back on this tuesday morning. ford reporting march u.s. sales rose 5%. that's slightly better than expected. it was the best march in five years for the automaker. chrysler sales also up 34%, in line with estimates and it is its best month in four years. also this morning international air passenger traffic rises 9.3% in february but an industry association says faltering business sentiment and stubborn fuel costs are cause for concern. and eu anti-trust regulators opening two visions into motorola mobility after microsoft and apple accuse the company for setting unfair fees for use of its patents. motorola mobility now own by -- >> google is buying it. >> there was something left of motorola to still -- >> i know, i know.

a couple of patents or something. >> the patents, the hardware. come on. >> motorola makes me sad. it does. i think of the razor, all the potential. >> remember the razor. what a phone. >> i don't want to say kodak but it's sad. motorola was a great story in the 80s and 90s. some of their ceos became legendary and then the next thing carl is in there pretending he knows how to run a phone company. >> we're going to talk movies. i don't know if we're going to talk about this particular movie but "hunger games" earning $251 million in just ten days, the third best opening of all time. have you seen it? >> i have not seen it. >> my daughter and son have seen it twice. that's why i saw it.

>> we're getting ready for the summer box office blitz. jerry lopez is the ceo and president of amc entertainment. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> so have you seen "the hunger games"? >> oh, yeah, seen it a couple times. >> as we think about the summer blitz, what should we be looking for in what are the big pulls that are going to get us into the theater? >> there's all sorts of good product this summer. it's going to start out with the first weekend in may with "the aveng avenger" and we have a great johnny depp-tim burton collaboration with "dark shadows" and then a great memorial day running into june. we have "men in black," we have a madagascar movie for the family, "spiderman" and great

expectations for "the dark knight." it looks like between may, june and july we have a great lineup of summer movies for everybody. >> so how do you have get people, though, in the theaters in a day and age, you've been asked this question a million times, where a lot of people have 50, 60 inch screens at home, they're getting the movies. the window is getting compressed. it just makes it that much more difficult. >> it's a combination of things. i know jove has a nice big home theater at home, he always talks about it. but here is the reality. number one, our screens are the first point of contact for any customer and a great movie. and the movies are really made to be enjoyed in that big screen. you have a combination of things, a, great product. and then, b, a significant amount of investment by the theater owners in enhancing the theatrical experience, where almost all are fully rolled out

for digital. we have in our own circuit nine, ten what we call dining theaters, so can you enjoy dinner as you're watching the movie as well. there's quite a bit of inve investment, not just from the movie making community but also in the exhibition community to enhance that thee thooep attory call experience. let be real, movie going is part of the social fabric in america. you want to get out of the house, it's friday night, it saturday. if you have kids at home, maybe you want to get away from the kids. maybe the kids want to get away from you. so that idea, the part -- the movie going and enjoy is a social fabric of this country is critical as it has always been. we expect it will ten to be. >> how do you have explain the droveoff we've seen last year? was it bad movie offerings there? >> a couple of things.

movie quality has a lot do with it. something like "the hunger games" -- a lot fewer movies. over the last couple of years we've seen 10, 12, 15% dropoff in the number of movies coming out of the major studios in hollywood. we've seen kind of a rise in some of the independent product but the independent product just doesn't pull as as well as some of the bigger movies do. we've also had some difficult overlaps. "avatar" was the number one movie of all time. trying to overlap those numbers, it's always kind of difficult. but in the first quarter of this year, the one that just ended, we're up 21%, the industry is up 21% over prior. it gives us the end case, it gives us the data to believe that movie-going in america remains very healthy and it's

still very much part of what people want to do with their weekend. >> let's talk food. you guys are doing all sorts of new dining-in experiences in the theater. the popcorn is still as expensive. what is the margin on popcorn in your theater? i'm personally curious about this. >> the margin on the food and beverage items across the industry will run in the mid to high 80%. there's no doubt the popcorn and coke is where a lot of the profit exists for the exhibition industry. >> and if i sneak food into the theater, which i sometimes do, what are the real rules about that, jerry? >> i hope you catch him, jerry. that is lame. now that you know, put his picture in all your theaters. >> the real rules, andrew, is don't do it. that will not be an encouraged

and welcomed behavior in our theaters or most of the theaters across the country. >> the other stuff, the pee wee herman type kids. >> as a kid we'd go to the candy store, buy all the cannedy for nothing and put it in our pockets and we go and -- what are you guys doing over there? >> you don't remember peewee herman? >> now you finally got it. don't do that either, please. >> guys, enjoy the movie. >> oh, he does. he's enjoying it. >> no, no, look at becky. she can't even -- >> the funniest thing, when it's the joke about the ceiling with you. don't sneak food in. >> i promise i won't be sneaking food in. >> that kills you 80%.

i saw it on your face. it kills you. >> it does. >> you have been able to keep raising prices on food? >> we've kept the lid pretty good on food and for that matter even on the movie-going experience. last year, 2011, what we call average ticket price only you a usa about a 1% increase, well below the cost of inflation. there's been quite a bit of investment, the conversion to digital iswell over $1 billion across the u.s. it cost -- some of our studio partners have helped us. it's a significant amount of investment to go off the 3d, keep up the middingings. 1.3 billion visits to theaters in america last year, that's almost ten times, nine and a half times the combined attendance of all major league sports. those buildings need upkeep. that doesn't happen by itself.

so the level of investment in technology and in upkeep is really one of those big facts that are rare live considered when people look at our economics. >> jerry weeks got to run. thank you so much. i'd love to have you back. i want to know next time i see you which is the best studio these days making films. >> we'll be happy to talk. thank you, guys. >> we also want to thank mike jackson, who was our guest host this morning. he had to get back into the city. when we come back, senator marco rubio will join to us talk about the race to the white house right after this quick break. the next revolution in music is happening here. pandora rocks the big board.

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welcome back to "squawk box." the futures indicated a little lower yesterday. car icon says he holds 60% of cvr energy shares. he says he's willing to pay $2.3 -- yes, $2.3 billion, $2.3 cavs, $2.3 yaks for the company? i don't know. >> there are three primaries today, maryland, dc and wisconsin. florida senator marco rubio is with us. i feel bad because you know you're going to get asked these

questions. a guy writing an article says i don't believe what he told ken, and what you told him, senator, is that you would not accept the vice presidential spot, even if it were offered. can you clear that up? this guy says you weren't serious. >> yeah, i am serious. maybe i shouldn't smile when i say it. i am serious. my answer on that hasn't changed. i won't accept it. it not going to be offered either. >> they say there's the hypothetical question and the actual question and saying no to the hypothetical is not the same as saying no to the actual question. then a democrat says the reason you don't want to be on the ticket is because nobody is excited about romney's chances. that's why you're saying no. >> is that what he wrote? >> yes. >> that's not the case. i am excited about mitt romney, who i think will win the

primaries tonight and will be our nominee and lab sharp contrast to obama. i think his real world experience in the free enterprise system, which i think we need to embrace more than ever before. if you look at all these countries around the world, the more they experiment with a free enterprise system, the more they deal with prosperity. they've opened up their economy. the more they do that, the more prosperous they've become. we need to do that and continue to follow our own example and embrace the free enterprise system. i can't think of a better person to be president than someone like mitt romney who is ho has been so forecastful. >> can you believe you said a time that was in doubt? it's denigrating a couple of supreme court justices because their political ideology called for small government and free

markets, at the expense, this editorial said, at the expense of the general welfare. this is going to be a battle that plays out over decades, not just years, for the soul of what kind of economic system we have. >> we've always had a debate on what's the proper role of government. we're not anarchists. we need regulations and laws and courts. you have a contract with someone, they don't keep it, you want to make sure can you sue them and have your property rights respected and things of that nature. on the other hand, if the government does too much, even if it's well intentioned it, does it at the expense of the free enterprise system. more often than not the people hurt by government doing things it shouldn't be involved in is the small businesses, the people trying to start a business out of the spare bedroom of their home and can't afford to hire the lawyers and accountants and all the putt that need to -- >> you could give a clinic on this. romney does a good job, too, but

you would be an asset. if not you, who do you think could espouse these principles as well as you? >> well week have a plethora people, bobby jindal, nikki haley, governor of south carolina, brain sandoval, chris christie obviously and former governor jeb bush. i don't think mitt romney will have a shortage of people who consider when he decide who is his running name is going to be but the top of the ticket decides these elections. i think mitt romney brings not just theoretical with you free life experience. when you put him on a stage against barack obama to debate how to grow the economy, it will be the difference between someone who as grown the economy and somebody who read it in a magazine. >> we're not going to know what

the supreme court thinks about the health care law until june. some people on the front of the wall street journal are guessing they're on the defensive, trying to prevent this rule or law from getting struck down. there is a school of thought of people who believe that if it is struck down that, that will really motivate president obama as base and that will be a really tough thing to go up again in the election. what do you think about that? >> i haven't spent a lot of time doing the political calculation and i don't know the answer. i believe on two fronts -- i think it's us constitutional and i think it bad public policy for example, franchises, who are scared to death of the heck law, they done fully understand what it means and hieven the lawyer can't tell them because the rule

hasn't been written. they're saying let me go part time, cut back on hiring be and not expand and open a new business until i fully understand what the law means. >> the law is incredibly complicated. a lot of people have been trying to figure it out. there's also a problem of millions of uninsured people in this country. >> there is. >> is there a man -- will you pledge in the law is struck down the republicans will offer up or try to get something done with the uninsured in this nation? >> even when i this h -- think this is repealed, in essence i wish more americans had as many choices as their members of congress do when they get their health insurance. members of congress get to pick from 10 or 12 plans. you decide how much you pay a

month depending on what plan you want. you get a book saying pick your primary doctor but you don't get to pick your health plan. >> senator, what do you have want to do with those that are insured? >> answer that again. >> no, but -- just -- >> go ahead. >> go ahead. >> is there a question? >> yeah, i guess. >> about the uninsured. >> the question is two-fold. number one, you have a group of people chronically ill. these are folks that are impossible or difficult to insure. they have preebb ex-isting conditions. i think there government can be helpful with a high-risk pool. the government can help insure folks that are chronically ill. insurance is based on the notion you're not going to be sick most of your life and you've stored up to pay for it. government can be helpful for a high-risk pool. for everybody else, it should be

a vibrant free market for health care. your employer can decide i'm going to give you health insurance or give you the money so can you buy your own health treatment as my employer would get. i would buy that insurance from any company in america that will sell it to me. small businesses could pool together with other small businesses and create buying pools among their employees. for those with pre-existing conditions, government could play that role at the state level in creating high-risk pools. >> senator, thank you again for coming on today. we hope to see you again soon. >> thank you. coming up, we'll head down to the new york stock exchange. "squawk box" is coming right back. [ todd ] hello? hello todd. just calling to let you know

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welcome back to "squawk box."

in our headlines, james murdoch is reportedly stepping down as chairman of bskyb. it will be announced after the board meeting today. murdoch quit his chairman of news international in february in the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal. this is the next step in that situation. let's get down to the new york stock exchange. carl, melissa, jim and david are all here today. we've been watching the auto sales today, ford with its best numbers in quite a while. >> a lot of positive surprises on a month where 30%, 35%, jim, is considered a miss in some cases? >> i'm beginning to think that march -- i guess we have to talk a little more about the weather. i'm not al roker here. terrific weather. terrific retail sales. people are out and about. i think it is skewing everything. skewing everything very positively. >> do you think, jim, that that's stuff that pulls sales forward or lifts all boats? >> it's a great question.

i do believe that there's going to be some stealing -- >> it's going to be a pull forward. when you take a look at the retailers and what they have on the store floors, there's only a certain amount of merchandise, if it sells out, it sells out. that's the issue here. . is it just a pull forward? and next year, looking for weaker-than-expected sales. but today in addition to the auto sales, apple is going to be a huge force. it's already poised to open at a fresh record high. we have that $1,000 price target from one of the most influential analysts on the street, gene munster, who we have at the top of the hour at 10:00. >> this global warming isn't so bad, sit cramer? >> well, look -- >> in past experience with warming, food's easier to get -- >> i think there is a backlash. people are talking about the idea that it's a way to combat famine.

all i'll say is i always want to be careful when i see the numbers that are coming out thursday, they're going to be so blow out. we'll say gasoline doesn't matter. gasoline goes up and up. there will be some moment where it will matter. and i don't want to get too excited about retail, given the fact that everything seems a little inflated. >> mark fields told us that $5 is the new $4. >> i do like the fact that cars get more -- >> more efficient. >> cars are more efficient does seem to matter. >> a percentage of discretionary incomes comes down. >> guys, we have to go. coming up the stock of the day. the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. uh, nope. just, uh, checking out my ad. nice. but, you know, with every door direct mail from the postal service, you'll find the customers that matter most:

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you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. stock of the day, cvr energy. carl icahn says he holds 69% of the company's shares. icahn says he's willing to pay $2.3 billion for the remaining -- last night, it was stuck and then they changed it. you've got a long time here. >> i do. i have an entire 20 seconds. >> tomorrow, our guest host,