a look at the broader base market averages. as you can see, we dropped off a little bit in the last week or two. that's a bit of an ominous sign for the overall market. >> that'll do it for "power lun lunch." sue? >> "street signs" begins right now. welcome to "street signs" where we've got a bit of a rally on the street thanks to earnings and a bit less gloom and doom from europe. five-star advice on how to handle this roller coaster market, coming up. are big ben's days at the fed numbered? the exclusive results of our cnbc fed survey as the fed meets ahead of tomorrow's big news conference. plus, our lonesome losers list. they've been losers on the street. but they still keep on trying. and today's heart attack on a plate. we are sending for the middle east, mandy. >> hello, everybody. mixed day for the markets we're seeing today. but the dow has had a pretty solid session, up as many as 123 points at one point. a good chunk of today's gain is

being driven, however, by just three stocks. ibm, caterpillar and 3m. the s&p 500 also moving to the upside. only slightly, though, now. certainly not as much as the tow. the index is really here trying to avoid a sixth losing day in eight sessions. a little bit touch and go at this point. the nasdaq composite, however, is still on a losing streak. down for a fifth straight day. and seven days out of eight. the countdown is also on to apple's earnings. we're talking about the nasdaq. they're going to be coming out after the bell. anyone under even a rock would know that. the stock is now down 10 of the last 11 days. did you know apple's down around 11% since april 10th. yahoo! over the same time frame is up over 3%. in the meantime, why don't we find out more about the overall market and, of course, what's happening in the bond pits. bob pisani and rick are standing by. bob, let me get to you first of all. if i'm not wrong, there's a bit of a laughter going on around the trading desks here with regards to walmart. here's a company essentially that paid out, what, $23 million

in bribes in mexico? lost about $15 billion in market value? >> that's right. it's a bit of a chuckle. it is obviously not a funny matter. it's incredible for their accusation to lose $15 billion. they're below $200 billion now. that's absolutely right. down about 7% in the last couple days. there's walmart down another 2% today. that's a big issue. here's the other thing people are talking about. housing numbers. now we have the three big housing statistics and sequentially from march to february, they're down. that's a little bit of a concern. people are clearly taking business away from the earlier part of the year when the numbers were a little bit better in february. i think the housing numbers are a little bit of an issue today even though the publicly traded builders are up. mandy, i'm telling you, they're capturing bigger market share. it's not that the pie is getting bigger. it's that the publicly traded builders are getting more of those numbers. home sales, existing home sales, new ones and housing starts all down from march to february. february to march, rather. >> bob, i don't know if you have

an output monitor there. i just came across a chart from the st. louis federal reserve data base about new homes basically being built. right? it signifies and exemplifies the home builder paying really in one chart. you can see homes being built en masse during the runup and collapsing. bad for home builders, especially individual ones. we're showing our viewers now. ultimately couldn't this be a good thing as the population grows and supply gets tight? >> yes. the answer is the supply is now at a historic low. this is quite a chart that you've got here. the important thing is, look, these numbers go back to about 1961 or '62. we are at these historic lows. we're at levels we haven't seen since way back in the 1960s. they don't go back any further than that. we got up as high as 600,000, almost 600,000. now we're down into the roughly 200,000 level. it's got a long way to go. i think the important thing here is the home builders, the publicly traded guys we put up every day, they're getting

bigger and bigger shares. about 30% of the new home sale market now. 20 years ago, probably half that. >> that's a really interesting fact. thanks, bob. over to rick. i guess bonds have got a bit to contend with here. we had the successful auction in the netherlands. we're ensconce now in a two-day meeting with the fed. what are the treasuries up to? >> treasury is pretty much -- two things altered their flight path over the last couple months. one was the last fed statement. for whatever reason the market seemed to think there was less potential management of interest rates by the fed. and we shot up close to a 2.40 yield. then we had a lot of weakness in europe. the notion of europe being in recession and various countries. more importantly, domestically, we had a real dropoff in the last nonfarm number at 120,000. i really do think as bob has been pointing to, you can say some of the earnings were good. it's a pretty low bar. pressu treasury market is preoccupied with growth or more importantly a lack of it.

>> rick santelli, thank you very much. up one day, down the next. it has still been a pretty good year for your money. don't forget that, right? with many saying buy the entire market time is over, stock picking keeps looking better. which is where our next guest comes in. a morning star five-star rated portfolio manager with over $12 billion under management, rich weiss. i know you don't give individual stock picks. we know you are betting on the consumer. you are betting on america. with that in mind, if you got to narrow it down as much as you can for us and our audience, what areas are you investing in right now? >> well, as you already mentioned, brian, we're leaning towards the u.s. and we're leaning towards equities at the margin. specifically reits. the real estate sector. it's consumer driven. the numbers today notwithstanding, it's a harbin jer of better things to come. it's definitely a bet on the recovery over the longer term and a bet on america. >> what kind of reits? >> well, we have several funds

that span the globe. we have domestic and global versions. so they're well diversified for the average investor. all highly ranked. but the sector is going to be driven by three different factors. low interest rates, low mortgage rates, positive for the sector. favorable valuations which continue to this day based on nonunreasonable expectations of earnings and funds from operations. and last but not least, an improving economic outlook, at least domestically at the margin. >> let's talk about earnings in general. because here's something that's really got me scratching my head. a couple of weeks ago when alcoa kicked off the earnings season, expectations on the whole weren't that great, right? now we're some way in. about 80% plus of s&p companies have essentially beaten expectations. so why is the market not doing a whole lot better? are we that bogged down and hung up on what's happening in europe and china? >> clearly, as you look both east and west, you see some clouds on the horizon.

but to your point, there's no question this first quarter worth of earnings is coming in very strong. much stronger than expected. we're seeing average growth rates across all sectors on the order of 6%. and the average surprise on the positive side by over 8%. so very strong numbers. arguably being weighed down by some of the macroeconomics, globally speaking. so clearly it's a battle. again, though, the consumer which still represents two-thirds of the u.s. economy is the major tide, the major force. we're going with that one. >> okay. you said reits. i'm going to bottom line it with this and ask you to narrow it down. if you had to buy a basket of, "a," financials, "b," big cap tech or "c," consumer discretionaries, which one would it be? >> it's a tough choice. depends on the risk posture. i'd have to go -- to be responsive i'd have to go with consumer discretionary.

financials number two. >> betting on the consumer. we like to hear it. maybe a little prop and pop for america. rich weiss, thank you very much. >> walmart is the biggest drag on the dow again today. allegations of bribery in mexico continuing to take a big toll on the top. wmt down 6%. about a $15 billion market value wipeout. execs at walmart meantime are taking those allegations seriously. they've hired a new compliance officer in mexico. but our next guest says that based on market reaction, the worst may be yet to come for walmart. joining us now on the newsline, market hulbert. what more is to come? >> that we don't know. if you look at what the market has done in past occasions when there has been just bribery, nothing else but bribery alone, the market has not reacted anywhere near as severely as it has in the current case. what this suggests is the market is betting there are some other financial misdeeds that have yet

to be divulged. that is what is the source of worry that i think we need to take seriously. >> do you believe that they are worried about more things to come out? or maybe the reaction was simply just a reflection of pain at wal mex, and also an expectation of change of senior management which can disrupt plans? >> that's all very possible. i talked to a number of researchers who have studied past occasions where either the justice department brought cases of bribery against companies. all the way back to 1978 when the foreign corrupt practices act was put into place. they had enough companies in their sample to be able to tease out what the market's reaction is to bribery alone. rarely did they see the overreaction that might be what some people are expecting, they'd like to expect the market

for walmart stock will rebound. but they didn't necessarily find that in their sample. they typically find that the market instead correctly was able to see what was coming down the road. it isn't a fwaguarantee. it's a source of worry. the market is betting there's something else out there. >> if not financial misdeeds, how much to you think the market is reflecting a general feeling it might be difficult for them to grow. so much of their expansion strategy is moving into new markets. i wonder how authorities in certain new markets, emerging or not, may feel if indeed these allegations turn out to be true. >> that's right. you always have to worry that their business, even if their business model were otherwise strong, if other people are going to be that much more cautious about making deals with them in these various countries where their growth definitely has been the strongest. then that will at a minimum slow down the growth if not put something more serious in place. >> very interesting. we will be watching. mark, thank you very much. in the meantime, out to

brian shactman for a market flash. >> i'm looking at icon plc. it provides just fascinating stuff. developmental services to drug add medical twice makers. it had a slight beat on eps today. i want to take a look at an intraday if they can get it up quickly. iclr. revenues were a little light. we just found out that stern agee upgraded from buy to neutral. at the highs of the day. up 8% plus. as you see, we had a "power lunch" pop on one stock. that is a "street signs" pop in iclr. >> you ask, we deliver. thank you, brian shactman. >> a street shactman pop. appetizer, done. entree on the way. it's certainly been a big week for big ben. some say ben bernanke's days at the federal reserve could be numbered. might he be out in 2014? if so, who might be a front-runner to replace him? >> good question. plus, the lonesome loser stocks. kids always picked last in gym class. beaten down. roughed up. but which one is going to be the

biggest loser? an investment opportunity you didn't see before. fidelity's next generation ipad app lets you see what's trending around the world, as well as what over a million fidelity customers are trading throughout the day. and advanced charting lets you customize your views and set up your own comparisons. our ipad app can help refine your strategy or even find a new one. i'm velia carboni, and i helped create fidelity's next generation ipad app. it's one more innovative reason

serious investors are choosing fidelity. get 200 free trades and explore your next investing idea.

the better yourself beauty trade as i call it, march is on. check out align technology ticker. algn. that stock soaring up 16%. this company not a customer relationship software maker. no, no, no. they make the invisiline braces.

they are soaring on strong sales. new high, in fact, of the name. >> the federal reserve's big two-day meeting under way. the stakes couldn't be higher for ben bernanke. could his future at the fed rest on what happens in this meeting? steve liesman polled some of the nation's top fed watchers. he joins us now with those exclusive results. what is their feeling about big ben here, steve? >> their feeling, big ben could be gone in 2014. we asked our experts for the first time, how long will ben bernanke stay and who could be next? take a look at the results. will fed chairman ben bernanke be chairman after 204? 34% said yes. 34% said they don't know. i think that 34% is wrong, by the way. that should be 14%. we've had a little problem with our graphics today. that's the right number. 55% saying he will be gone by 2014. would he be reappointed? he could be reappointed by a democrat or gop president.

30% believe that. only 2% think a gop president would reappoint him. 35% think a democrat would reappoint him. 35% say he won't be reappointed by either a democrat or a republican. who would be the fed chairman if there is a republican presidential candidate? 29% said john taylor. 26% said glenn hubbard. 16% for mankew. these are write ins, by the way. we didn't offer choices. if it's a democratic, janet yellin. larry summers, 20%. allen blinder and bill dudley, 7%. zoom out for a second if you would. i can't imagine he would stick around for another term of shenanigans by our political leadership. that's diane swonk of mesirow

financial. what's happened in the last month since the survey, the market has come closer to thinking bernanke has policy right. note that in the march survey 53% said the fed was too easy. 38% saying -- only 38% saying he had it just right. now that number is 51% saying he has it just right. only 8% saying he is too restrictive. guys, what we have here is most of the market thinks bernanke will be gone by the 2014 term when it expires. brian and mandy, i'm sorry. i didn't get any write ins for your guys' names. >> shenanigans putting it politely. brian shactman, you've got more for us. >> hlx. helix energy. about a $2 billion market cap in the oil and gas space. it had good earnings. take a look at the intraday. it peaked in "street signs" just a few minutes ago at the highs of the day. back to you. >> thanks very much, brian

shactman. >> thank you very much. all right. what exactly do we expect to hear from the federal reserve tomorrow? what do we want to hear from the federal reserve tomorrow? let us bring in david kelly, jpmorgan funds' chief market strategist. all right, david. first, i want you to respond. you probably heard steve liesman's piece. the exclusive survey. most people say, you know what? ben bernanke might be out. steve refused to write in our names. i'm going to tell you something. thank goodness. i wouldn't want that job. do you think behr bernanke is gone by 2014? if so, who and what kind of person would you want to see in there anyway?ther >> first of all, i kind of agree with diane swonk. i'm not sure after the last few years somebody would actually want the job of fed chairman. i think it's going to be -- i think he will be under a certain amount of pressure from both the left and the right just because of what the economy has been through and also because of the extraordinarily unorthodox monetary measures the fed has adopted. you know, personally i'm more interested in what they do than

who's at the helm. i think ben bernanke wants to do the right thing by the country. i don't always agree with his view of how monetary policy works in the economy. but he's certainly trying to do the right thing. he's done a lot of unorthodox things to help the economy in the financial crisis. i think the question is what do you do with monetary policy from here. >> if you don't always agree with what he's done, what would you do differently if you were in his shoes, david? >> let markets gradually get back to normal. i think the monetary policy is like pushing on a string when you try and use it to get the economy to grow. it's really not working. but the economy is gradually improving by itself. i think the best thing the federal reserve could do is gradually set a pathway to higher interest rates so people realize these very low rates are temporary. that will encourage people to borrow money, invest money, take advantage of low rates today before rates go higher. i think that would stimulate the economy. >> i agree with you. why would the fed to that now when you've got initial jobless claims which have disappointed

the last couple of weeks. we've started to see a few signs of slowdown. plus you've also got all this nonsense going on in europe. spain officially now in recession. german data disappointing. china's pmi data disappointing. why would they set that pathway, as you call it, now? >> because it will make the economy more healthy. i mean, we've passed the point where low interest rates help the economy. this economy is not lacking for liquidity. this economy is lacking for confidence. what the federal reserve needs to say is it's okay. the patient will get better. take advantage of it. what's really out of whack are valuation. housing is incredibly cheap. people are nervous about taking that step because they aren't hearing the all clear. the best thing the federal reserve could do is say, look, we think the economy will be okay. rates will go up. take advantage. the reason i say they should raise rates, not because i think the economy can take it. because i think it will help the economy. >> they certainly love having that big insurance policy at their fingertips.

thank you. >> reporter: muvery much, david kelly. >> brian shactman. >> i'm not trying to hijack the show. apple. obviously we're anticipating earnings. hitting session lows pretty much as we speak. bounced a little off 555 flat. we're a tiny bit off it. it is trading at some of its lowest levels. now down just a touch below 9% in the last week. back to you. >> all right, brian. thank you very much. all right. speaking of the fed, be sure to join us and our all-star panel tomorrow beginning at 12:15 eastern. that's right. an hour and 45 minutes prior to the normal "street signs" beginning. we call this a show within a show. it is a fed decision. it is hosted by brian sullivan who not only is tall but loud. also will have good guests. >> you got that right. just ahead on "street signs." >> these are real and they are spectacular. >> not stuck on with sticky tape. how the world's worst commute is actually fueling auto sales coming up. >> call the hanz and franz

trade. we're here to pump you up. how gym rats might help your portfolio get into shape. that's our shoutout of the day. [ male announcer ] at scottrade, we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade.

pandora rocks the big board. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays,

creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. 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.

time to put on the stocktolojist cap. nasdaq stats. there you go. also pretty positive market internals on a day with a little bit of a rally despite the walmart continued woes. >> do stocktologists have to wear rubber gloves? chinese stocks. the sec is finally getting tough on them. how tough are they really getting on them? >> they're getting tougher than they were. look, over the past six months, the sec has revoked the registrations of 34 chinese companies and filed charges against three. the most recent of those charges was sinotech energy which regulators alleged overstated the value of its primary operating asset. the chairman was also charged with secretly siphoning at least $40 million from the company's bank account. this is an interesting one. because allegations were first

brought to light last august by the website alfredlittle.com whose authors are anonymous. and which issued a 30-page report on the company at the time. the company fired back saying the allegations were inaccurate and defamatory. sinotech stock is now trading around 2 cents. this heads up. while these chinese stocks may have been down, they are not completely out. next week china auto rentals expected to list on the nasdaq through an ipo with morgan stanley as the leading banker. last month it was vip shop holdings. a discount retailer. well below -- currently trading below ipo price down below where it was supposed to be priced. currently the appetite for chinese deals as you might guess. >> i guess it's good the sec might be starting to get a little stricter with them. at the end of the day it also brings heightened awareness to the fact a lot of people don't

trust chinese data. economic data, accounting. in general the data is -- >> these companies show you. by the way, there's the old issue. i'm telling you, the sec has been out there with a few of these companies. why is it always after the fact? that's what we have to ask. why can't they get in there while this stuff is happening and stop it. next time. >> preemptive damage control. >> let's stay with china's story. the world's biggest automakers have gathered in that country this week. if you think your commute is tough, you haven't seen nothing yet. phil lebeau is in beijing to explain. >> reporter: after years of explosive double digit growth in auto sales, china's major cities now find themselves with a new problem. congestion. in fact, here in beijing is a perfect example. last month roughly 400,000 people who had bought a new car applied to win a license plate so they could drive that car here in the city. just over 17,000 were actually awarded a license plate. meaning most people who bought a

car cannot drive it here in beijing. >> that is absolutely a constraint on sales. but it's a good thing to do because for the population here, it'll make the quality of life better. >> reporter: as tough as it is to win a license plate here in beijing, it's even tougher in shanghai. there, it's through an auction. last month the winning bid cost more than $9,000. that's the story on china's auto growth from here in beijing. back to you. >> wow. imagine how congested it'll be once everybody in china can afford a car. >> it's almost new jersey. >> yeah. turnpike, here we come. coming up on "street signs" with gym rat trade. >> pizza hut strikes again. if you thought that hot dog stuffed crust pizza we showed you a while back was bad, just you wait till we show you the next one. one good and very scary reason why you shouldn't walk and text. we're back in two. who have used androgel 1%,

there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep,

and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news.

thanks for staying with us here on "street signs." let's get going with today's street talk. what's happening out there in the markets. well off the highs of the session. new home sales came out this morning. they showed a drop in march by 7%. that was the largest amount in more than a year. on the positive side, though, auto zone in a rally zooming to the top. hitting new 52-week high. elsewhere, what's happening with oil with the final oil trades crossing right now. crude only slightly up today. let's check in with sharon epperson out there at the nymex. >> the gains have certainly lost some steam, mandy, as we get into the close here. we are looking at prices, though, that are still range bound between this $100-105 a barrel range. that's what we've been trading in for the last several weeks for crude. keep in mind a lot of traders are still awaiting what the fomc decision will be. that can have a lot to do with the oil trade going forward.

we are keeping a close eye on gasoline as well. we've seen gasoline futures slip and some of the biggest losers in the commodities today have been those gasoline futures. the gasoline crack as well. we are hearing about a number of refinery negotiations under way. whether it's conoco phillips and delta and their east coast refinery or sonoco and carlisle group working out a deal for an east coast refinery. that's something that could also be pressuring prices and demand. mandy, it keeps falling. >> it certainly does. thanks very much for that. we're going to talk about whether college is still worth it in a few minutes. first, herb has a double disast disaster du jour. your usual beat. >> apollo came out a while back. now cappella education off 10% with downbeat guidance. after the bell today, devries is going to be reporting. currently trading at a five-year

low. the big issue is new enrollments as we get through the spring season and what they say going forward. at some point this hard reset i suspect will stop. there's still a lot of buzz around the industry. we're really getting this whole for profit education earnings season into full swing. >> is there anyone in this segter that's doing okay? >> most of them right now are trying to figure it out. i would say not right now. they're just, you know, going through the -- devries was considered best of class. >> aren't they countersickly cal to the economy? if the economy improving and the job market gets better won't people go to these schools less because they would rather go get a job? >> that's interesting you say that. yes. aalso were considered the place to go when you couldn't get a job because you could retrain yourself. when the economy was bad -- >> that's what i'm saying. the economy gets better, isn't that bad. they're countercyclical. >> no. they're countercyclical but they weren't countercyclical.

they're blaming both sides of it. >> they sound like retailers. weather was too good. nobody wanted to go shopping. >> this was an issue on the apoapo apollo last time. blame one thing, blame the other. >> really tough for the whole industry. thanks, herb. all right. big pain for big lots. ticker big down sharply. the company cutting guidance basically saying same-store sales fell in the first quarter. look at that stock decline. 23% plus. biggest decline in years. at least four wall street firms downgrading big lots today. >> okay. i've really had enough of disaster. let's bring in the sunshine. a little chocolate covered sunshine, thank you very much. hershey up 6% today. trading at the highest level since may 2005. raising outlook as well for the year after a 24% increase in its first quarter earnings. hershey posting its best percentage gain in two years. okay. guys, are you ready? are you ready to pump up your

portfolio? lifetime fitness is a gym operator in the u.s. and canada. they've got about 700,000 members and also close to 100 centers. well, folks have been keeping a new year's resolution. earnings beat expectations. the stock is also up about 10% over the last year. bakram is ceo and founder. even though you did beat slightly on your eps last week, i still see that the stock dropped as much as 10% straight after the earnings came out essentially because your full year forecast disappointed. what are you doing right now to try and turn things around in terms of what people are expecting for you this year? >> yeah. so we were very pleased with our results. we had the best same store sales improvement. 5% across the mature stores, the bulk of our stores at this time. since the time we went public. we had great growth in earnings. we had great growth in margins.

everything was great. actually, i expected the stock to go up. i think the street maybe was looking for us to raise the guidance on the revenue side. and as i've said before, our cfo the same thing, we will never raise guidance unless we are fairly certain we're going to hit those things. everything's working great. our strategies are working great. business is strong. we're looking forward to the future quarters to hopefully continue to overperform and the stock will take care of i.t.s own. >> can you tell us how the lifetime athletic centers are going? those are hiring centers you're hoping primarily on the coasts. they're a little more in terms of dues. as i understand it from analysts i e-mailed today, your returns on those are also higher. how are lifetime athletic stores doing? >> yeah. the athletic stores are basically places where the demographics demand us to have a higher price. the $100 plus a month membership. and we are still extremely competitive because we offer a

lot better product for that price than the other people offering above that $100 mark. and so the clubs are just doing great. we spend more money, obviously, because land's more expensive. construction's more expensive. the total cost is higher. but also the revenues are significantly stronger. the returns are coming in very solid. >> really quickly, ten seconds. are you looking at all to initiate a dividend? >> we are continuing to grow the company. so as we continue to grow the cash flow, we will put that cash flow right into growing the business. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you so much. all right. up next, is college still a no-brainer or is the cost not always worth it? kelly evans is going to school us with some real life lessons in economics. also the lonesome loser gang. who is the loneliest stock in the bunch? mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943.

i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. this at&t 4g network is fast. hey, heard any updates on the game? i think it's final seconds, ohh, shoots a three, game over. so two seconds ago... hey mr. and mrs. harris, where's kevin? say hi kevin. mom, put me down. put...the phone...down. hey guys. did you hear... the choys had their baby? so 29 seconds ago. well we should get them a gift. [ choys ] thanks for the gift! [ amy and rob ] you're welcome!

you're welcome! [ male announcer ] get it fast with at&t. the nation's largest 4g network. covering 2000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. at&t. ♪ [ male announcer ] while others are content to imitate, we'll continue to innovate. the lexus rx. why settle for a copy when you can own the original? see your lexus dealer.

welcome back. bob pisani. coming up, coach's sells in china soared 60% last quarter. is lew frankfort worried about that nation's slowing economy?

plus the outlook for the semiconductor industry in an exclusive interview with intel ceo paul otellini. the earnings we're all waiting for. finally apple is out after the bell. an army of analysts and shareholders standing by. breaking news right now on egan jones rating agency. securities and exchange commission will be charging egan jones and its owner and president, shawn egan, a face known to cnbc, for material misrepresentations and omissions of the company's 2008 application to register as a ratings organization. so, again, there was a press release out a few days ago. the possibility this might happen. shawn egan spoke to us. you know, denying it. the securities and exchange commission coming out and saying we will be charging shawn egan and egan-jones for what they call material misrepresentations and omissions in the company's application to register as a

ratings agency. that news coming out right now. obviously, just breaking. we're going to give you more as it comes on. that news coming from the sec in washington, d.c., as we speak. all right. moving on, is college worth it? do high-priced degrees really pay off in the long run? kelly evans breaks it down for us right now. >> that's right, brian. i'll do my best. let's check out the state today of student loans. as you can see from the large ticking clock behind me, student loan debt has reached over $1 trillion. greater than the amount of credit card debt outstanding, greater than the amount of auto len debt outstanding. for many households student loan debt second only to mortgages in terms of the size of what they owe. what we're talking about for the new normal. $23,000 on average. that's what your typical borrower owes. for younger borrowers, it's a bigger amount, even. it's $28,500 for people who are in their 30s. major social and economic

changes happening. this could be contributing putting major purchases like buying a house on hold. that's not necessariily going t help the housing market. changes decision making about starting a family. it's one thing to have high debt loads in the first place. it's quite another to have high debt loads coupled with weaker job prospects. that's the second part of the story. it's one that has people equally worried. new analysis from the associated press showing more than half of young college fwrads, people under the age of 25, are jobless or underemployed as of last year. that means they have education that overqualifies them for their line of work. why is that? a lot of the jobs that even those working to have are in low wage positions. things like retail, food service. 225,000 or so of these jobs compared with many, many fewer. something in the range of 90,000 for fields like engineering and math mat you cematic mathematics.

is a college degree worth it? if you don't have to take out the debt, yes. if you do, especially if it's a heavy debt load, maybe you think twice. if you're like fed chair ben bernanke's son, by the way, you better make sure that field you're going into is going to be a line of work that isn't taken by a foreign worker or machine, maybe, in the next couple of years. here's what things stand. average annual earnings for people with a bachelor's degree, no higher, about $47,000 last year. still significantly above high school grads. but if you chalk on something like a $30,000, $50,000 debt load you can start to see why all of the sudden this math just doesn't quite add up. brian? >> i don't know about you. when i was at university so many of the people teaching me had absolutely no real life experience. academics their whole life. at the end of the day i would have been so much better off going straight into the job force. >> i wonder how much of that high school degree is skilled -- trying to get a plumber in new jersey is my point. start the burner. it's bacon news coming up next.

while greased up gangs are pilfering from supermarkets. the biggest earnings release of the season. apple. what is the trade here ahead of the results? "street signs" back in a flash. 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. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we're hitting new highs. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the spx is on my radar. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and i'm on top of it all with charles schwab. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i use streetsmart edge and its tools like... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 screener plus. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i can custom build my own screens tdd# 1-800-255se predefined ones to help me find tdd# 1-800-345-2550 possible trading opportunities quickly. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i can also bounce my ideas off their trading specialists - tdd# 1-800-345-2550 on the phone or face-to-face. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and i can trade wherever i want, whenever i want. tdd# 1-800-345-2550

tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the kicker? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i pay $8.95 a trade. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that's a deal in any language. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 hey... a breakout on a head and shoulders bottom! tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that's what i'm talking about. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open an account and trade up tdd# 1-800-345-2550 to 6 months commission-free. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 call 1-800-540-0098 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and start trading today. 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.

just one hour away from what could be the biggest earnings release of the season, apple. the stock getting hammered over the past two weeks, though. down 10 out of the past 11 sessions. of course, off record highs. what can we expect? let's bring in jon fortt with the apple preview. >> let's get town to it. this is really all about iphones. lots of fears apple is going to miss the iphone number which is street has between 30.5 million and 33 million units. i pulled this data. if they just do 28 million units, that won't break this trend line. growth is, in fact, in the right place. wall street's gotten ahead of where their estimate should be. that's what we should be talking about. >> let's bring in now -- >> got to go. >> he's got to go. let's bring in ceo of macrorisk advisers. what do you think we need to see and hear today out of the earnings release and the guidance to get this baby rallying again? >> the expectations are certainly going to be very high. when you have a stock that goes up with the force that it tid, i

think retail investors tend to get sucked into the story. it's a great company. it may not be the greatest price. >> i love jon's piece. you were a know you're a little rushed. the point you're making is clear. yes, you we may not make the estimates for iphone sales, but we've gone so pair bol lick that it's still a darn good growth trajectory. >> it's a good growth trajectory. they are trading at 14 times forward earnings but their growth is a lot stronger than that. so what happened last year, q3, the iphone number was disappointing. i said, hey, this stock is going to have to run to catch up with fundamentals and report close to $110 million. this quarter, that's going to be a quarter of their market cap. if they continue to grow lower than expectations, the same thing could happen. >> if you look at the reaction over the past i don't know how many quarters, generally you see

an upside of about 4% in reaction to the earnings but they are so good at low balling. they do this every time. at the end of the day, what is the trade? >> we're really focused on the derivative markets. one thing that is troubling, the stock was rising upwards 50% at the highs of this year. volatility rising at the same time. that's never a good sign. in fact, i know that you're going to look at netflix. that happened with netflix as well. when we see the stock price and volatility go the same way, it tends to tell us that the story is getting frothy. so, again, it's lower than it was two weeks ago and it's a tremendous run so far. >> well, both of you stay here. not only a great song, australia, we call them losers because they are beaten by the queen of hearts.

netflix, r.i.m.m., nokia, are there any hidden winners? at some point you either go to zero or you come back. >> yeah. >> which of those names do you think has the greatest chance of being a hero? >> we put out a trade which we called the biggest losers. you buy the stocks that had done the worst with the expectation that there's a reversal, some of it is tax loss selling. netflix was in that basket. that did well. that's a tough business model. radio jack is a tough business model as well. wouldn't want to compete with amazon, frankly. it's really hard to see which one is going to do best. >> and which would go to zero? >> i wouldn't even proffer a guess. >> jon, do you have any ideas? >> nokia is not stuck in the woods. >> i thought you were going to say r.i.m.m. >> r.i.m.m. is in tough shape. yahoo! if they can offload the

asian assets. >> herb greenberg, welcome back to the set. what do you recommend? >> he loves picking these guys out. i'm not saying he's a losers. >> yes, you are. >> we had radio shack with the worst candidates for ceo for 2012. i put together my own list of deadman walking and r.i.m. number two, nokia, number three. i do not think netflix is something that is going away. >> all i heard was crap-shoot. >> yes. >> that's what i was saying. >> nokia is trading at lows -- radio shack at low since 1981. bill gates was in magazine ads.

>> it was not in '81. >> so were fluorescent pens. >> olivia newton-john and radio shack were both hot in 1981. >> here it is all over again. is there a name that we didn't say on the list that you think is a good contender as well? >> no. i think currently this one wraps it up. there are others as it progresses. >> okay. herb greenberg. >> shock. >> you're definitely not a loser. >> he is. >> he is. thank you very much, dean. thank you for coming in, jon. >> speaking of cell phones, guys, i know you are big texters. this scary video proves to you why you do not want to be walking and talking on the phone. look at that. a teen falling through a sidewalk in northern china. a cab driver climbed into the 20-foot deep pit to pull her out. we wouldn't show you the video

if they were both not okay. >> even if she wasn't talking on the phone, she still would have fallen through because someone could have seen that. >> it's a public safety message. >> i apologize. mother of school children, do not walk and talk on the phone. the pizza that defies all logic. and bacon news goes to jail.

demand media expands on the big board.

on my journey across america, i found new ways to tell people about saving money. this is bobby. say hello bobby. hello bobby. do you know you could save hundreds on car insurance over the phone, online or at your local geico office? tell us bobby, what would you do with all those savings? hire a better ventriloquist. your lips are moving. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

requesting right now to sharon epperson, sharon? >> the u.s. department of agriculture is investigating a mad cow disease in a dairy cow in california. the usda is saying it's an atypical case of the disease. they are holding a press briefing at this time. the animal died on the farm. none of this has gone through the food chain but there is still little detail available. and we saw a sharp selloff and in fact they will limit down early in the session. they have closed for trading there in chicago. and trading as well after as, again, the usda saying that they are investigating a mad cow disease dairy cow in california.

>> it's darling international, no relation that we know of and to get the attention on this industry and one name scary story, never fun, we talk about mad cow. >> we're going to talk to you about bacon and pizza. we'll bring those to you instead tomorrow. >> before we go, though, quick programming note. wednesday is fed day but thursday, a special edition of street signs. we're going to have the first ever cnbc stock draft. forget the nfl. watch us. we're going to have an all-star and it's going to be a lot of fun. two days from now. >> it's going to be a must-see. thank you so much for watching street signs today. >> "closing bell" next. more o