they will fly between tie pay and hong kong and rakes in more than $1 billion a year. started back in the 1970s and still going strong. thanks for watching street signs. "closing bell" is coming up next. hello, everyone. i'm maria bartiromo with the new york stock exchange. >> i'm bill griffeth. in the markets right now, we have the meeting at the new york federal reserve. mary thompson has details. what do you have, mary? >> just released by the federal reserve, it's a summary of the meeting that took place at the new york fed. it's a rare meeting attended by a number of bank ceos, six ceos of jpmorgan, state street bank of america as well as goldman sachs.

during the meeting, called by the fed governor to talk about the stress test, the fed says the bank expressed the concern about the pending regulations. they expressed these views to the fed even though they were not allowed to reply to the bankers because some of the rules are still being written. they expressed concerns about how the fed is determining what a bank single counterparty credit limit will be. they expressed concerns about volcker and the market. they expressed concerns about how some areas of dodd-frank will impact their international operation. that's a summary from the meeting. afterwards we spoke with jpmorgan and ceo of morgan stanley, both of whom said the meeting was productive. back to you, guys. >> a lot of groundwork to be laid there on dodd-frank as they get ready to implement the financial regulations and jamie dimon has referred to it as

dodd-frankenstein. after starting the market lower on the major concerns, they are clawing their way back to positive territory, be almost. get this, the dow has been down at some point in the past six trading sessions and managed to close higher on five of those sessions. we're going to see if we can manage to slip past break even here in the final hour. down 30 points. we were down 11 a moment ago. we're starting to slip here down to 13,248. a decline of a quarter of a percent. nasdaq is up 4 points. s&p down 4, almost 5 points. right at 1400. we'll see if it can stay there at the close. maria? >> meanwhile, we are waiting for news out of earnings from visa, whole foods, and green mountain coffee. we'll bring that to you as soon

as it's out. research in motion, the stock down 5%. heavy volume there as investors were lacking confidence about the keyboard coming out with the blackberry. we'll talk more about r.i.m.m.'s up hill battle with the competition. r.i.m.m. is one of the big names on the downside. less than an hour to go, let's take a look at the themes that i'm watching. traders are watching energy and financial stocks today. they are the leaders and have been the leaders on the way down today. in other words, the laggards in the market. the u.s. economic picture still mixed with the disappointing adp

numbers. that's after yesterday's positive numbers on manufacturing. they are keeping a close eye on the friday's jobs report. the april jobs picture will be released friday morning. and later tonight, that is going to be the pricing. we'll see if it's below the expectations. sources i spoke with remain wary in light of competitors like apollo and others. zeroing in, investors are looking for positive earnings. a number of positive earnings results today from comcast, cvs, caremark, time warner, and mastercard. the global economy is having red flags today. the labor market and

manufacturing sectors both in the spotlight in china and the euro zone. we hash it out right now on the "closing bell" exchange. bob pisani and rick santelli joining bill and myself. >> bob, why is it at a four-year high? >> people stop me in the street. it's crazy. there's two things. you mentioned the earnings. down from 1%, the earnings are continuing to be better. but i don't think people have a lot of alternatives as well. i don't think professional investors have a lot of alternatives. you can't do it in the bond market and the u.s. stock market offers alternatives. you can argue and say that the federal reserve is giving people no choice. they are manipulating the

market. you can make those arguments but i think people are investing in the u.s. stock market because there are not a lot of alternatives. >> a lot of asset managers talking about this inability to make any decisions here because they are uncertain about the tax issue ahead of the election. they are uncertain about what is going on in europe. rick, it seems like we're not going to see a lot happen until after november at this point. what's so troublesome in europe from your standpoint? >> the best analogy is the subprime and how that was instrumental to the moving parts in the credit crisis. right up until the whole point of the thing falling in on itself, ben bernanke thought subprime wasn't enough to make a difference. we don't export boatloads to europe, but there's a bigger issue. there's a contagion issue, counterparty risk. i think it's a big unknown and on this unknown, if history

teaches us something, it's that the global dynamics are in place and unless the recession is shallow and short. >> and that's the fear trade, the european trade, fundamental trade and i want to highlight what you've mentioned, bob. expectations, we kept saying, expectations are going to have to come down because the earnings are not going to meet that lower expectations and they have exceeded them in many cases. >> the expectations are still low. they are only expecting 2% growth. in the second half of the year, estimates go way, way up. 16% growth for the third quarter and that's when the financials are supposed to kick in. they are supposed to build in assumptions in the second half of the year and start challenging that, if you want. the earnings growth looks pretty good. before we go, can i mention our dear friend, art cashin, just named one of the 50 most respected people on wall street. the only guy on the trading

floor, the only guy on the sell side. >> in our book, he's always in the top. >> congratulations, art. >> absolutely. we love you. >> thanks so much, bob. bill, see you later. >> well done. >> let's get to the energy sector. it's been a major drag. courtney reagan is doing quadrupule. >> less than an hour left in the trade, mixed picture for the sector we have mostly negative. energy by far the biggest underperformer and chesapeake energy, down more than 13%.

that's plg down shares of a number of other names. strong earnings and increasing its first quarter died gans, also giving fiscal year guidance right around the street's guidance. investors are buying in. these shares are at three-here highs, at least right now going into the close. investors have reservations when it comes to open table. despite the eps beat, first revenue quarter is light and so, too, was the second quarter guidance. maria, welcome back. >> court, thank you so much. research in motion is sharply lower after they showed off a blackberry without a physical keyboard. >> what? it will be part of the blackberry ten portfolio.

brian, what are you hearing over there? >> he said that they will have the physical keyboard. i'm being told that he's not backtracking. they were so focused on app developers and the first version that they just didn't mention it. the truth is, there's a lot of buzz here. there's the very first version of blackberry 10 will be the virtual keyboard and will come in the portfolio in the blackberry has apps, it's an onslaut. iphone has 500,000 and android has 450,000 and blackberry has

70,000. r.i.m.m. is guaranteeing 5,000 in revenue. >> it's been refreshing. i think there's a vibrancy about, hey, we can do this there is going to be a bright future. so i was -- i'll say refreshed and relieved to walk in here and feel that. >> good energy is one thing but the market share obviously has to change. it's hemorrhaging. and now in single digits. the other question that i've got is, what are you going to do here? the blackberry 10 comes out late in 2012. where will the market share be then? the bottom line is, he's confident that they will start to gain market share again. they've had a history of overpromising but i've got to be

honest, the energy is more promising than i had expected flying down. >> all right. brian, thank you so much. >> let's just say that the -- we're familiar with the blackberry at this anchor desk. we've each got one. in fact, i have two. here's the point. this is my work blackberry. this one belongs in a personal museum. i'm waiting for the blackberry 10 to decide whether i should upgrade to that or not. if they don't have a physical keyboard, forget about it. >> i'm not a fannie way but i don't use that to text. >> i can't use that. >> if this is the keyboard we're talking about, if that's not here and -- there's bella right there. >> you're incorgible. >> brian, thank you very much. hope you can stick around. we have a lot to get to. exclusive earnings and 50 minutes to go, the dow is down 30 points. >> have you seen shares of pepsi? the stock has lost a lot of

fizzle meanwhile coke has been surging. also, more caffeine for your portfolio. can shares of green mountain coffee perk up your shares? we'll talk about that in talking numbers. see all these clorox products? you may have to pay more for them. coming up, we'll talk with the ceo and ask whether rising raw material expenses will lead to more increases at the cash register. that leads us to our twitter question of the day. we want to hear from you. the federal government says there's no inflation but are you seeing higher prices for goods and services at the checkout counter? send us a tweet @cnbcclosingbell. >> inflation we all feel during the day or statistical inflation that the government measures. >> we felt it on oil, we know that. felt it on coffee. >> that's for sure. >> here's all of the red arrows in the s&p heat map.

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all right. welcome back. we're in the final stretch. we have 45 minutes until the "closing bell" sounds on wall street. under pressure is what we're talking about. dow jones down 33 points. still in the red but off of the lows this afternoon. early this morning we saw a selloff and down 87 points earlier in the session followed by a weaker than expected adp report and we suggest it may be good for the bulls. five of the last six trading sessions. financial and energy stocks is the day's laggards and the pressure on this market and among those stocks, the industrial average.

bill, over to you. >> announcer: from conceding defeat, pepsi ends a war with coke. is this good strategy? is the dividend hike a positive sign? where is the growth opportunity for the world's second largest food and beverage company. we have pepsi in the spotlight right now. in deed, shares of pepsi are up half a percent as the annual shareholder meeting is held today and it comes a few days after the multi-year global campaign features ads with celebrities like nicki minaj after pitching itself as the drink of the generation. will this new strategy put the f fizz back into the drink?

edward jones has a buy rating and from the bearish side it's carolyn. rather than talking general teas, give me one specific reason, both of you, why you do or don't like the stock right now. jack, what's one reason that you have a buy on pepsi? >> we're bull on the stock, both in the food and beverage sector. >> you don't feel as some do, that the two far flung divisions make it difficult? >> we have exposure in both categories rather than just being one. >> caroline, a reason that you have an underperformed rating on pepsi? >> pepsi is coming from a standing stock. they are way behind coca-cola in the beverage wars globally and they are just starting to get ramped up. i think that it's great that they are but that's going to take a long time.

it took years for coke and the new management to get its mojo back. i would also disagree that it's going to be two things. the companies winning are the global mobiles. they do one thing really well everywhere. >> but don't you feel that's a good way to diversify? especially the complementary nature of the beverage and snack division? >> absolutely not. because investors can do the diversifying. we've seen over time managements are not great multi-taskers. it's much better to do one thing globally than anything else. >> give me another reason to buy it right now. >> well, the shares have lagged, as you mentioned, at the start of this program. they have very good international emerging market exposure. the commodity costs really pressured them and we're going to see it decline. those are other reasons to like a stock. >> let me jump in here. the interesting thing is

frito-lay north america is at all-time high operating margins. about 300-basis points above the highs. they've left room for competitors to come in underneath them. that's not going to get any easier for them, the competition. >> jack? >> well, we've been saying, too, that the company is going to try to spend more on marketing and innovation and trying to make it stronger. if that is not successful, there is a chance that this company could split itself up into two pieces. >> quickly, kwcaroline, if that were to happen, what do you think? >> i think they are going to put new management in place over time and still try to make this work as it stands and i certainly don't feel there's tremendous downside risk but there's better opportunities in

coke and anheuser-busch. >> folks, thank you both for joining us. fun discussion on pepsi. and we've got 40 minutes left until the "closing bell" sounds for the day. we have a market that is mixed here. nasdaq is still in positive territory. dow industrials down 40 points. >> meantime, green mountain shares down 30% in the past two months. does the stock look cheap, though? ahead of the earnings report, talking numbers trade coming up in a minute. >> and whole foods, the company has beaten expectations. 13 straight quarters. will the organic supermarket make it 14 in a row? that's in the close segment. and here's how each member of the dow has traded. a lot more red than green, as you can see. back after this.

back after this. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years.

welcome back. i'm sharon epperson. after the weak euro zone manufacturing data, they will be interested in the latest news on drilling in the arctic. royal dutch shell announced one of the last permits was given to drill in the alaskan offshore. it's welcome news. they look forward to working with regulators to secure the final permits needed. meanwhile, litigation is continuing around the plants for drilling along the gulf coast. still, traders tell me that this is good news for drilling in the alaska offshore where production has been declining in recent

years. back to you. >> sharon, thank you so much. here we are in the final stretch of trading. we are watching shares of green mountain heavily trade as the company reports earnings after the bell. this makes it europe's last chance to make a move in the stock ahead of those numbers coming out after the bell. the stock has had huge moves related to earnings in the past. there is a lot at stake. let's talk numbers on green mountain. on the technical side, rich ross is with me. on the fundamental side of things, nicole miller covers the name for piper jaffray. good to have you both with us. thank you so much for joining us. rich, let's talk green mountain. >> the technical suggests that green mountain is a stock to avoid going into earnings and coming out of earnings. when we look at the chart, we see a textbook pattern which is the yellow line here. we have been eyeing the reversal, developed within the context of the very well defined trading range, 40 on the low

end, 70 on the high end. it gets its pattern because it's an island of prices by a gap coming in and coming out of the pattern. now, in isolation, the island reversal is not a compelling directional signal. however, it raises the spector for an outside move. you want to size that position accordingly. risk management is the key on this trade. we think that you are going to test around the low end at $40. >> is there anything here that makes you the seller on the stock? why are you a seller on the name ahead of even knowing that? >> well, first of all, look at the relevant stock. it's down 58% since the peak we set back in 2011. that's trailing the s&p by 75%. we all know we're at 70-year highs. clearly the relevant strength is a key barometer. the heightened volatility, this stock is structurally broken. it's a broken chart.

we think there's one more stock that will give us an inkling of what is going to happen. take a look at netflix and green mountain. these are two completely different businesses. >> look at these truck patterns. >> unbelievable sim met tree. netflix has led the way up and down. we see two broken charts. netflix was down 60% going into earnings. we know that story didn't end well. we think that's how the story unfolds for green mountain. >> hold on. nicole, we've already heard from duncan, starbucks, what did we learn from those earnings releases that might be applicable here? what are you expecting? >> the number one thing is that coffee prices are sky high. despite knowing that and being in the guidance, it's certainly impacting the prices of these stocks trading after markets after they report. >> it's very simple. bottom line, the risk reward is

much more derivative trade is so to own starbucks. everything green mountain does is applicable in a positive way as it relates to starbucks. >> thank you so much. we'll have those numbers after the bell. over to you, bill. all right. and while you were talking maria, in arlington, virginia, just now newt gingrich suspended his campaign for the presidency saying that it has been an amazing year for he and his wife. it's now down to mitt romney and ron paul has yet to suspend his campaign. he's perhaps expected to be the independent candidate. newt gingrich out of the campaign for republican nomination. right now heading to the close in the last half hour, dow down 29 and nasdaq still trading higher. also coming up, s&p 500 up 11% so far this year led by technology, financials, and consumer discretionary stocks.

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welcome back, bob pisani on the floor of the new york stock exchange. can't quite get into positive territory. the dow was down 28 points. 10 points short. we'll see if we can end in positive territory. earnings keep coming in and i'll be watching visa. that will be the key stock after the close. mastercard had great numbers. 15% volume growth, 25% earnings growth and the stock at an historic high. visa not far from an historic high. guys, back to you. >> meanwhile, a lot riding on whole foods. the company reports earnings after the close. the company has not missed analysts expectations for 13 straight quarters. let's get to jane wells at a whole food store in glendale, california. she has a preview of what analysts are expecting tonight. over to you, jane. >> maria, analysts are expecting double digit growth and investors are wondering if they are going to see a 14th straight

quarter. 2.67 billion. the consensus on the top line. it's causing a debate. same store comps. the street is looking for 8.9%. that will be a slowdown from the 9.4 reported in february and then there's margins. food costs have crept higher. maybe they will improve by leveraging occupancy costs. barclays saying we continue to have a hard time justifying the multiple. the numbers are out after the bell. the ceo will be live on "fast money." maria? >> thanks so much, jane. >>. >> it's been 13 straight quarters. it's going to be 14 after tonight. no other stock has performed

pretty solidly, whole foods up 20%. you do have a hold on this stock right now. you feel it's fully valued. is that the idea? >> it is almost 45 times earnings. whole foods gets the valuation and its valued for perfection. we'd like to buy it on a price dip. >> fundamentally, what's going on? i mean, anecdotally we hear that they benefited from people fleeing from supermarkets because of the pink slime we've heard about people running from. but they've beat expectations all of these times. >> it's emblematic of what is going on. people are waking up to the fact that from time to time there were issues with the conventional food supply in our country. not overall trying to cause a scare but every once in a while

something cropped up. and generally what else is going on is more people are waking up and saying, if i want to be safe i will buy natural foods. that distribution never has these kinds of issues. that's a shift that is going on. >> you feel whole foods is a crux for the whole economy. you feel by implication the economy is doing better than some numbers are suggesting right now? >> i think it was emblematic of food demand. i didn't mean for the economy. but i still think economically the biforcation that remains in place, the upper quarter of percent of people who identify themselves as being okay tend to be higher income and higher educated. the economic thing hasn't changed. their customer is shopping

freely. >> is there another attractive stock? >> well, those stocks have gone up as well. it's a great sector. really what we've got to look at it beyond, you know, what's next quarter sales growth rate, which is really a momentum idea. it's really -- whole foods is trying to reinvig great their sales growth. you can bet they can get 40, 50 stores open a year. their new store has been improving as well. >> andrew, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. bill, this is another example of how discerning consumers are. the whole middle of retail is not doing so well. >> think of the pink slime. it's so cheap. >> 20 minutes before the close

on wall street. a market is mixed right now. dow industrials down 27 points. >> still ahead, we're thinking about consumers today. are they spending more money on travel and lodging? we'll check be in with the ceo of marriott. still to come. as we take a break, take a look at how the s&p is trading in each sector. we're back in one minute.

i'm seem ma seema mody and here is what is happening. garmin is seeing growth in all of their departments. revenue grew by 26% year over year. fall stronger than what the street was expecting. more people are using their phone to look up for directions. trip adviser, the stock flying high as the top and bottom line beat estimates after expedia

soured sour soared on better than expected earnings. back to you. >> seema, thank you. 20 minutes left in today's trading session. retail doing very well. it's the banks and energy stocks under pressure. the nasdaq hanging on by a thread. up a fraction. the only one of the positive stocks. it's starting to fall back into the red. it's off of the best levels. intel one of the best performers for a second day in a row. volatility index up a fraction. today we're seeing opportunities looking for the best places to get the biggest returns. and now a great time to focus on the topic, given that the dow has managed to get out of positive territory in five of the last six trading sessions. >> given a recent rally in the

stock market, should investors look to other asset classes, something in the fixed income arena. joining us is westwood holdings group and from the fixed income corner and selective in the fixed income category. >> yeah. we've seen a big move in the market, particularly in high yield and some of the higher yielding sectors, such as prefers. so we'd be selective. so we still think that it's a great place to earn the coupon and we have high yield if you stay in the high yield in the upper end of the market. >> right. just below some investment grade. >> right. >> but the ability to earn the coupon and compound that income in a low-yielding environment is still for the investors.

>> the corporate sector as well as the emerging market corporate bonds as well. let's talk equities for a moment. in terms of small and mid-cap names right here, where are you placing bets? are there sectors that you prefer or individual names? >> there are certainly sectors we don't like, which are equities that have high yields. so utilities and being bought for nonfundamental and investors are chasing for those areas. whereas -- >> absolutely. if you look at areas like technology, if you can produce durables, even banks where they have good fundamentals improving balance sheets rock solid and valuations that are extremely low relative to their own history and the spread with traditional fixed income. i think it represent as great opportunity and not being viewed so right now because investors are being driven to two

different areas of the barbell. fixed income and growth. >> do you think that will impact the dividend payers, the high yielding if we see the bush tax cuts expire, we could see it go up to 43%. >> that's absolutely a concern. stocks are are never driven by one specific thing but as you start adding in other elements, like increased taxes and already a rich valuations that makes that risk that much higher. >> and if that happens, what happens to fixed income, do you think? does it become more attractive, necessarily? >> i think on a risk adjusted basis it becomes more attractive and that is one sector of the fixed income market that actually the spread is still a little bit wide because people are nervous about the banks but i think if we get into the year and as we get closer to the fiscal cliff, the prospect would probably be for a slowing economy and that would probably be good for the bond market. >> good to see you both.

thank you for joining us. see you later on the countdown. >> we appreciate it. thank you. coming up, blackrock's bob doll and keeping money in the low-yielding accounts. that's in the next part of our seeing opportunity segment. bill? >> all right. there are a few minutes left. 15 minutes left in the trading session. if we just wait here a moment, we probably will be positive on the dow as the nasdaq is positive right now. >> and aubrey mcclendon getting hit with another conflict of interest claim. that's coming your way, next. also, steve wynn. courtney reagan with us back again that. story coming up. wynn is rolling the dice in macau and so should you. i'll round them out and you place the bets. that's coming up on the "closing bell." bell."

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hi, welcome back. i'm standing at the post of chesapeake energy at the new york stock exchange. the name has been in the news, obviously. chesapeake one of the worst performing stocks.

let's check with the specialist. we have a big decline. how is the stock doing? >> big stuff. thank you so much. we have very big volume and the stock, as you can see. let's take a look at chk down 14.5%. a source telling kate kelly that mcclendon ran a private hedge fund in the same commodities that chesapeake produces. always long natural gas and well-known in commodity trading circles. some analysts regard that fund as a conflict of interest, of course, from mcclendon who was just stripped of his ability to

more declines and as you heard good volume. big, back to you. >> the recent performance of the group and then you can make your own odds. casino operator wynn has been given maca auchlt in the area 18 months later than expected and trailing some of the competitors, that's five times that of vegas. revenues up 26% so far this year in that chinese territory. wynn shares were sizzling earlier on the session. you can see it's down half of a percent. wynn shares are up 20% for year to date. las vegas sands opened up three

weeks ago and its shares are doing better, up almost 31% year to date. and seemingly against the odds, caesar's shares have gained nearly 63% since the ipo on february 8th. the casino operator posted a loss. bill? >> court, thank you very much. to the twitter question we go. federal government says there's no inflation but are you seeing higher prices for some goods and servic services that you use the most? chris writes, of course, food, energy, insurance, government and fed lie about the numbers. chris, you are so cynical. jeremy says, it's beyond a consumer's scope inflation. econ 101 says that there will be

a push-pull. be sure to tune in 4:30 p.m. eastern time. the exclusive with donald knauss, the ceo of clorox. in the meantime, we're coming up on the closing countdown after this very short break and the tech and financial sectors have led the s&p 500 at 11% gain this year. should you keep following these leaders or will other sectors emerge in the second half. >> how come they strip out food and energy? >> they say you do that for the longer term trend. that's the difference between statistical and anecdotal information. >> take a look at the major averages trading we have seven minutes before the "closing bell." bell." en prairie, minnesota. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow.

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the crude oil was down another 81 cents to $105.35. you'll see it in the spread in brent and crude and the north sea and london. the spread has been coming lower here lately. brent had been going lower on fears of iran. now it's going lower because of fear of demand issues. same thing with gasoline. the year over year demand numbers are down 5 plus percent for gasoline. here's the dow, may be playing the waiting game. we'll see. it could be another day like this. the yield on the ten-year moving up.

and the staples are also up higher on the day and there are the others and how they performed as rforwell. kathy jones from schwab. there's talk about a floating rate security. would you buy that? should somebody who looks for income through the treasury market, would they buy that, do you think? >> you might. it's probably more of an institutional product so for money finds, short-term bonds with a yield over, say, t-bills, that would probably be an attraction for them. >> the u.s. face as deficit of a possibility of another downgrade like we had last august. we're at a point where we're still not pointing to the deficit. >> if you look at why there was a downgrade for the s&p, there was a political gridlock that we

were in. i think both rating agencies may choose to downgrade. >> because of the fed's move to keep rates low? >> i don't think half a notch down for the rating agencies will change the perception that u.s. treasuries are safe, liquid market that people need to be in. >> so not the armageddon? >> i don't think so. >> thank you for joining us. >> thank you. one thing to keep an eye on tonight and will be an indicator of how the economy is doing right now, it always is, there's the art auction season. this ought to be a doozy. one of the four versions of edvard munch's "scream" goes on sale. this is something that you'll