i think that's the bottom line. we will see. >> thanks for watching "street signs." "closing bell" is next. >> "closing bell." sue herera sitting in for maria bartiromo. stocks with a speed bum top start the week. welcome back. >> those were large snails. >> extremely large snails. >> escargot largo. i'm bill griffeth. speculating -- some are speculating the weakness in the market may be in part because the market thinks the romney/ryan ticket could win. that would mean austerity and something the markets are nervous about or could be a summer day on wall street. at any rate, we are lower but off the worst levels of the day with the s&p in danger of closing below 1400.

a look at the major averages. dow off the lows of the session. now down 32 points. down about 80, 90 points at one time. 13,175. nasdaq still above 3,000. almost going positive and there's the s&p back above 1400 now. down just 1 3/4 points. not won over mitt romney choosing paul ryan as his running mate. >> i think that's a big question. if voters do reject the fiscal hawk like mr. ryan, in the end, the market will really tank. he's joined in today's "closing bell" exchange by josh brown and david james, james advantage funds. in a moment jeff sought of raymond james will join us a well. if the market and the voters do not embrace when mr. ryan has said in the past he wants to do, that market forces may mandate.

could you explain? >> yes. sure, you know, americans for a long time now, sue, have been paying lip service to the fact our government spending way out of control and need to rein things in. we have been get drunk on free liquor and getting ready to pass along the tab to our children. how convenient at a time education costs are at all-time highs and unemployment is rising. it is a little naive to think of the fact that we are totally in control of this. we see what is happening in europe now. i'm sure italy a few years back as well as spain didn't think they would be paying 7% for their bond yields. i think it is just a matter of time before we start to see that cost over to our shores. you you this we have problems now, imagine the set of 1.6% paying 6%, 7% on our ten year. >> josh brown, what do you think of a paul ryan vp would mean to the markets? would it make a difference in any way you can see? >> not really. i don't think the market is

reacting to this at all. i also think that the comparison between us and greece and it sly a specious one. they are not currency issuers nor do they have standing army that will defend their bonds and currency. to get back to your question, the truth is that if the market were up 20 points right now we would be saying the market seems to like the fact that there is a little bit more conservatism in the romney campaign. little bit more fiscal seriousness. what i really think is that like mitt, paul ryan is a very expedient politician. if you look back a t.a.r.p. he went against his party and passed it because he saw the market crashing. i don't think he wants to crash the market again with talks about drastic -- >> i wouldn't be too worried about it. >> will make the point paul ryan's point the u.s. could become like a greece. your point is well taken. lot of different structural changes there. >> you know, if you look, david, out at the vix a few months out going into the fall, it rises dramatically. market seems to be interpreting that as the fact volatility,

perhaps because of the election, perhaps because of the fiscal cliff, will increase. would this be a sign to you perhaps to take profits if indeed you have some in the market? >> i think it really is a good time to take some of those profits. you look at the economic problems and ultimately financial markets take that your cues from the economy. we have seen plenty of problems. last month we lost over 200,000 full-time jobs. we look at the regional fed reports. they are suggesting that new orders are contracting retail sales have been down. and this is a good time to look to take some of those quits out of the portfolio and when we are recommending for our clients is when you find those stocks that have been underperforming the market over like the last year, those are the good places to start as far as doing the weeding in your portfolio. >> it is clear this market is hyper-focused on the jobs number. every month we wait and wait and wait for that. can you identify anything in the romney/ryan economic plan that

would help create jobses that may provide some hope for the market? >> i think starting with the tax rate being reduced for corporations is a huge one. as far as the market anticipating a romney/ryan victory, let's not forget about the fiscal cliff that's looming over us. you look down on ryan's plan, he is talking about capital gains taxed at zero. that's a far cry what we are hearing with the current administration taxed at the normal rates. >> have to get that passed congress. is that likely to happen? >> that's going to -- tall order. so that's why, you no, we are paying the -- riding the fence here now. you about from -- one standpoint, one participant talking about taking profits in the market, we think these dividend paying stocks, especially in consumer staples, telecom and utilities, everyone has been hyping, that are now overvalued and startinto see those downgrades come out like we saw today with coca-cola, as a -- perfect example of where you want to take profits. >> i would also add if i becomes

apparent rom new/rye is an going to take the reins in this race, one of the jobs things they do very specifically talk about, would have a really positive impact, at least on the stock market and certain sector, is the energy idea of really developing and drilling and putting natural gas to the forefront of our alternative energy. rather than solar and things proven to not be very realistic. >> do you invest against that? >> no. what i would say is if it becomes apparentent based on the polls that these guys actually are going to start taking swing states and really take the rein, those are areas that might do very well. one thing you may want to look at is the natural gas plays themselves and you want to look at the equipment companies that could be in for a lot of spending if that's going to be a serious policy of a new and coming administration because the current white house is not going to prioritize that. >> david, you talked earlier about taking profits. is there anything you like here? are there things you would be

buying? >> as the general just was talking about looking at energy, we -- energy prices will be heading down. we are looking at global recession and, in fact, luc at post election years, since the 1940s, over half of them have been touched by a recession. and that usually manassas lower energy prices ahead. good place to invest in these kind of times is looking at more of the refiners. and that's one of the areas we are keeping an eye on. again, they buy the crude oil and as those prices come down, they are able to keep better margins and just an area their stocks should view better than the rest of the energy sector. >> aren't we paying higher prices now not because of lower demand but because of higher constraints on the supply right now? isn't that the problem here? >> i would agree that there is too much constraints. and that being able to have more of a freer economy and less regulations would go a long way to helping that. but we just look at oil prices today. we really should be seeing oil

prices closer to $50 or less. again, that would be a big drop from the level we are at now. again, those refiners are the place that will benefit in that situation. >> $50 oil from your lips to the energy gods. thank you all for joining us today. >> i could only hope. >> yes, indeed. we have 72 minutes left here. market still coming back a little bit. dow down 37 points at this hour. >> indeed. don't go away. you won't want to miss what's coming up on this edition of "closing bell." >> coming up, pain at the pump. gas prices spiked 18 cents in the last would weeks. the bain truth. mitt romney picks paul ryan for the vice presidential ticket. would he have hired him at bain capital? a former bain insider joins us for insight. >> you have to get away from the too big to fail doctrine.

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well, one of our next guests says get used to the pain at the pump we are paying these days because it may get even worse. he says gasoline could spike to $5 a gallon over the next month if we see any action from what he calls the two bens. ben bernanke or binyamin netanyahu. >> joining us is jamie mcilvaine. patrick dehan of gasbuddy.com and couldn't disagree more that $5 is on the horizon. david, i will start with you. you mentioned the two bens. can you elaborate on that? i assume the binyamin netanyahu

situation has to do with iran. >> sure. that's the next 30 days as a real concern beyond that ben bernanke and any stimulus would impact. commodity prices, equity prices, although lot priced into 13,000 and dow present. if you look at the macro picture it is negative for oil. eurozone and in the u.s. from a supply and demand fundment am standpoint you have a very negative oil picture. you can't write off the two x factors, two bens, if you will, ben bernanke and binyamin netanyahu. >> patrick, what's wrong with that reasoning? >> well, i just think as an elecon year, we have seen the u.s. take a very cautious note on iran that's likely that, you know, if israel were to think about attacking iran or if anything would develop with that situation, the u.s. would try to restrain israel. not only that we have a fragile economy and i don't think that $5 would be supported. we counted iran out.

pass sanction, looks like part of the -- trying to make agreements to bring some iran oil back. we have already policed in the loss of iran's crude oil. even with that, the fragile economy -- i think economy would fall apart before gas prices got anywhere near $5 a gallon nationally. >> what about that? there are a number of -- oil analysts. we come to the brink with iran a number of times. therefore, the market is already factored in, some kind of action from israel, you know, or as this just suggested perhaps iranian oil is off the market and will be for some time to come. >> sure. well, when you talk about iran, it is not just supplies coming from iran but really destabilization, the whole area, it is cutting supplies through the strait of hormuz, far bigger deal than just the supplies lost from iran. and i think it is worthy of note that it is not just what we want in the united states. when you are looking back at operation opera, the attack, that was not on a permission

granted basis from the u.s. senate, u.s. president. i think that what you might see is the unilateral decision made. again, if you are talking about an x factor that could drive the price to $5 i agree. it is not sustainable at 5 but based on supply and demand fundament fundamentals. a spike to those levels, that is the only thing that could drive it that high in the next 30 days. >> look at -- >> in the hands of the others. >> what if we don't get the x factors, what happens to the prices? could we go lower from here? >> we meandered higher 17% higher in west texas. that has been a return of the pier premium. and concerns certainly with syria. no resolution there. not just an iranian issue but destabilization in the middle northeast general. that has brought us to these levels off of the lows, '77. i think that, yeah, you could see prices go lower over the next 30 days and meander lower.

arguably we could see 65, 55, again, based on supply and demand fundamentals and had increasing supplies here in the u.s. almost every week for the last year. now, that, again, is with demand december struck in the picture and slowing the eurozone. everyone is waiting to see if the people's bank of china will do anything in addition to what the ecb or the fed will do and everything is dependent on stimulus. every market today is too dependent on stimulus and i think those expectations can be dashed. >> if you look out at the consumer spending has not been healthy. as a matter of fact, going in the opposite direction. and we are -- closer to the end of summer than the beginning of the driving season. if, indeed, one of those consumers out there that was uncertain about their jobs, you know, faced with back-to-school shopping, end of the year costs that go along with the holidays, a lot of people who argue that indeed as you pointed out we are headed for lower gasoline.

regardless of supply fundamentals out there now. >> that'right. you know, we are winding down the summer of driving season. that's a factor to think about here with the lower prices. risk to the lower side. certain there middle east is -- a concern. but you have the u.s. economy efficiency of vehicles, you know. these factors were looking -- long-term trend of lower demand. and while the iea continues to revise, in fact, latest revision downward for crude oil demand, it is going to con to put downward pressure on prices and while the middle east certain sly a significant concern, i don't foresee any situation that we could drive the national average above $5. we certain cloy see a short-term spike. even the u.s. masked shipsz and around the strait of hormuz in case that situation does arise. i think the only good factor going in motorists' favor we are working towards the cooler months. it will help motorists with my

sort of pike that will take a little bit of bite out of the increase. >> patrick, last issue. one word, ethanol, that's been going up because of the corn price going up because of the drought. you mean, how does that influence all we are paying now? >> certainly. ethanol is blended and just about every gallon of gasoline. higher ethanol goes, it is going to continue to put upward pressure on gas prices. quite simple. you have the rfa standards. corn growers love it. it is putting upward pressure on corn. motorists love it. upward pressure at the pumps. we have to see what politicians do. talk about removing the requirement to blend in into gasoline. i don't think that will happen any time soon. >> all right. gentlemen, thank you both. >> thank you. >> very key issue what we are paying in gasoline. >> little bit more than 40 minutes before the closing bell. dow is still on the downside by 46 points. the nasdaq is also on the minus side. clawing its way back. down about three points. >> groupon. shares lost more than half of their value over the past four

months. has that sell-off made this stock the deal of the day? or would you be dealing with a loss if you bought it right now? >> plus, still ahead, find out why the people with the most money may not always be the smartest money when it comes to hue-profile stocks like groupon and facebook. you know why i sell tools? tools are uncomplicated. nothing complicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping's easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that's not complicated. no. come on. how about... a handshake. alright. priority mail flat rate boxes. starting at just $5.15. only the postal service.

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check on the dow. off our session lows, still low on course for the tenth losing positive monday over the past 11. right now the dow jones industrial average is down 50 points. amid signs the global economy is slowing. dow trading in a 92-point range. all of it the downside. meantime, the vix, cbo volatility index dipping below 14 for the first time since march. it traded down 5% today at 14 even on pace for its lowest close of the year. >> we are going to talk about that later. thank you. wore going focus on groupon now. shares were higher. now they are trading lower. they were up sharply ahead of the earnings release we will tell you about after the top of the bell here. but, of course, we should keep in mind the internet deal stock is half the price it was just five months ago. so is this stock trading at a discount? will it get worse from here on for groupon? that's talk numbers. technical skied, chief market

technician at oppenheimer. this has been a tough stock since its ipo. >> you have to say. if you are -- your very first day is your best day, going down ever since then -- >> peaked early. >> unhappy circumstance. here it is. you know, sometimes all it takes is being able to draw a straight line. and -- the other side of this line, if you will, is to look at what's forming here on the bottom. we reached a point of great movement. big up and response to this earnings number or big down. in principle, we never bet long stocks. >> using -- you think it would be to the down side. >> yes. >> lou, the fundamentals. this is a company that consumers love but investors hate. why? >> investors don't like it because it turns out that, hey, first a company that never should have been public? it is so early in with regards

to the development of their business model. since they have been public, it turns out that their customers are worth less today than they thought they were when the cowen public. and in addition, there is a lot of transition going on like every -- internet company, transition now to a mobile world. and groupon is really nowhere in mobile. and they are losing shares to other competitors like living social. >> is it you that says they shouldn't be a public company to begin with? >> undoubtedly. it is -- very early. in their business model. things are changing rapidly. that's why they have to restate their financials because they didn't even know what their customers were worth. so when customers -- when companies are this early, in their development, they shouldn't operate under the public layer. they should operate as a private company and groupon had access to all the capital they p wanted to in the private markets and never should have gone public. >> support? >> floor is the limit.

it can get worse and worse and worse. there is nothing here. >> there it is again. this is not the kind of thing -- that's why they use the word traps, value traps. >> you feel something -- >> that's it. potentially implies you reach to the point it is a wedge. putt then break out or break down and we would bet down. >> maybe that happens tonight after the bell. we get the earnings release on that. thank you both for talking numbers on groupon today. thanks. >> thanks, bill. >> all right. the dow jones industrials average is on the down side by 50 points on the trading session. and we are about half an hour before the closing bell. >> would you expect -- accept a vp nod? come on. >> it doesn't don the romney campaign any help to speculate on any of those things. i'm going take a pass on that one. >> well, did mr. ryan know something when maria asked him those questions? hear what he told maria about the fiscal cliff and the tax reform just days before his nomination.

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we all know now that 42-year-old paul ryan is mitt romney's co-pilot on the political ticket. is onsome that know mr. romney from his days at bain capital say paul ryan is exactly the kind of person that mitt romney would have looked to hire when he ran the private equity firm bain capital. >> partner at bain capital during the romney years at the firm. he's also the author of "unintended consequences." we are pleased to have him join us here on the floor of the nyse. thank you for being here. besides from the political similarities between the two and their parties, what qualities do you think would have attracted mr. romney to mr. ryan if -- >> i there are a number of qualities. the first is that mitt demanded tight logic and he really

challenged your logic. and he expected it to be backed up by facts and figures and information. certainly we see that in paul ryan. >> analytical. >> bain was running a debating society. we wanted to get to an answer, cost of compromise and how you reach compromise. and what are the costs and been futures to alternatives were critical to the debates and conversations and issues and -- paul ryan's been in the center of those debates. he knows what other congressmen are thinking and what compromises they are willing to make and what the costs of those compromises would be. i think mitt would be extremely attracted to that. the last is that mitt challenged us our logic and challenged us to challenge him and challenge each other. you couldn't get away with not voicing your opinion and having convictions at putting forward your arguments and so i think he would expect in one like paul ryan to challenge him and not varn i shall a truth and not be willing to shrink away from debating him. >> they don't need to see eye to eye on economic policy which is what paul ryan's forte is in order for him to be on this ticket?

>> i would say they have to be close because you don't want to be heading in two opposite directions. but i don't think they have to be exactly in the same spot. no. real world will dictate what compromises will be made. >> what is it about paul ryan? some people have said he could be romney's sixth son. why is that? what is it about paul ryan th? >> he's searching for the truth and digging down as deep as it takes and willing to follow the truth wherever it leads and demanding facts, the figures, and the information, not making guesses about what the facts might be. >> highly analytical. >> yes. >> one of the issues mr. romney faces is the fact that paul ryan has been very outspoken and has dared to touch the entitlement question and there are some that say that mr. romney my haay hav problem because people will assume that's mr. romney's

agenda as well. he would be liblable to differentiate himself from the more controversial issues mr. ryan brought up. >> i think he is not afraid to have people on the team that would disagree with him. that's evident from what i saw at barron capital, if he wanted to distance himself from paul ryan, he wouldn't have picked paul ryan. i think he has to feel comfortable with some of the positions paul is taking even though they are perhaps more controversial than the positions mitt has taken. >> what does this say about -- the kind of cabinet you think mitt romney would choose? >> i think he would see more of the same which is brilliant guys with unassailable logic, deep subject matter experts that have the facts and set their -- at their fingertips and deep knowledge about what they are proposing and willing to take the stands and challenge mitt and not be able to disagree with mitt. >> he highlighted paul ryan's ability toward bipartisanship. reaching across the aisle for a certain pieces of legislation.

medicare being one of those. do you think mitt romney could choose a democrat for his cabinet at some point? >> i don't think it would be out of the question. i think mitt is a very pragmatic guy. and he doesn't want to have a debating society where you debate the theoretical and hypothetical. he's always trying to figure out what needs to get done in the real world and how do we make the compromises necessary to get it done and what are the costs of those compromises, are they worth making? i would see very pragmatic people in his cabinet. >> you think the two of them are a good pair together on the ticket. certainly. what do you think mr. romney has to do to convince some of the people who are either in his own party or in -- you know, the democratic party that it is a winning ticket? >> i think that people will step back and see taxes running at 16% of gdp and spending running at 24. we thought a rebound was going to come and bring it all back into equilibrium to 18 to 20. clear here that three years into it we are not going to see that rebound. and so tough decisions will have to be made. i think more has to be done on

the spending side and -- he has taken a position there. >> ed conrad, good to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> appreciate it. >> right now on cnbc.com paul ryan in his own words. new gop vice presidential candidate has made many appearances on cnbc as chairman of the house budget committee. check out our collection of video clips now on cnbc.com. >> in the meantime, breaking news on ebay. jon fortt with that. what do you have for us? >> well, bill, ebay making a big move. up 3%. some say on rumors about some sort of papal ipo spin-off. i talked to ebay. no comment officially but what i'm hearing from sources there is no spin-off of paypal imminent. paypal has been going through a reorganization under the new president of paypal, trying to get product, simplified from nine different product organizations, down to fewer finances, also have been going through some simple -- that's not, i'm told, any kind of precursor to any kind of

spin-off any time soon. back to you. >> all right. thank you very much. heading towards the close, 25 minutes to go. dow holding steady. down about 50 points at this hour. >> stocks may be up for the summer as a whole. s&p 500 is about where it was five years ago. that's depressing but we will push forward. >> that's the truth. >> have retail investors lost their faith in the market? what will it take to restore that confidence? >> does paul ryan really hate old people? >> mitt romney and paul ryan, their party is looking to protect the wealthiest of the wealthy in our country. >> he's going to help the wealthiest americans on the back of the middle class. >> we love campaigns. after the bell, our truth squad gives you the bottom line on the latest of ad wars about entitlements. >> first before we go to break the dividend. which company stock with earnings out top has climbed the most so far this year? estee lauder? home depot?

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just before the break, we asked which company stock with earnings out tomorrow has climbed the most so far this

year? estee lauder? home depot? tjx companies? now the payoff. tjx which has risen 35% year to date. >> i thought it was estee lauder. but anyway. shares of google and apple are higher. tech outperforming the broader market today. >> big moves in shares of apple as well as google. start with apple. all things digital. retailers continue to cut the price of aye phones as they gear up for the iphone 5 so that buzz around the launch is what's helping shares apple reach what it has not seen since april. downgrading the stock, writing google trades at a 25% discount to the online advertising sector. google has been trading well above 200-day moving average for over a month now. to pandora, shares getting hit after morgan stanley downgraded the stock to equal weight. analysts riding the hiring made

pressure the earn things year and next. back to you. >> thank you. it looks like dicey now for the s&p 500. might have its first seven-day win streak since october of 2006. index finishes up more than 5.78 points. big if. it will be its best seven-day streak in eight years. >> i'm writing it all down. but if we look back five years the s&p 500, get this, happy thought, down more than 3% in that five-year period. in that time, this is what i find interesting, total volume. people trading. down by almost 70% in the last five years. >> which begs the question have americans lost faith in the stock market? joining us today are john barr and bob pisani joins us as well. nice to have you here. i start with you. i mean, you look at some of the popular requests, talk to people, we talk to people on cnbc. many people do feel the individual investor does not have a level playing field. have they lost faith in the

market? >> well, equity outflows have been happening for the last three years consistently. so people have stepped out of the market. we -- we believe that there are great values in small and mid cap stocks and that this is -- great opportunity for equities. certainly relative to bonds. >> i -- this is going to sound blasphemous but i think there were people three, four years ago, even before that, who had no business trading stocks an way. you know. so we are -- maybe we are regressing to p mean in that regard. amount we are coming down. a little more than that. 70% decline in volume. some-to-some degree, there were people that had no business being in this market to begin with. >> the people lost faith in the market kind of thing because the facebook debacle is overdone. facebook has done nothing to engender confidence, agree with that. trading volumes, you noted here, declining for years. declining because people got killed in 2008 and real estate and got kid in the stock market. and because they were overextended in terms of that

your lifestyle and they had to delever. we are in a massive deleveraging phase. people don't have the money to be in the stock market or the way that they used to. they got to pay down their money. isn't that a factor? the primary reason we are seeing less enthusiasm. >> absolutely. i think you look at the amount of information that's available for investors to make decisions in terms of corporate presentations on websites, corporate websites, conference calls that the information is there for the individual investor and their advise dwrors make good decision. >> anecdotally is there -- selling stocks, they are going into bonds. >> they are. >> are they overpaying, going in the wrong place? yields as low as they are right now. >> locking in to 1.5% yield for a number of years doesn't seem like very attractive proposition to us. >> but that's the return of capital. rather than the return on capital. right? >> right. >> so if you had to invest right now, we say that there are some very compelling values out there. where would you find them? >> we -- like the idea of

suppliers to suppliers of some of the leading names, as you mentioned, apple. and one of the companies that we like is jay build circuits which makes some of the enclosures used for apple and aye phone and tablet products and sold off in the last quarter based on expectations of the apple phasing of their products and it is now -- valued at ought times earnings. >> you see we see there are a company called integ -- entegris. >> for leading edge fabs you need more and more of it. it is also valued at around seven times earnings. >> what i find most difficult about the market, the thing that bother meese most as the stocks guy here at cnbc, is that most -- we are hitting 4 1/2 years highs on the s&p 500 on the dow. if we were at 4 1/2 year lows it would be easy to say nobody cares about the market. we are at new lows. but we are at new highs. so the investors are missing out on this and to me that's the toughest part to argue.

your average person out there, talk among the street, they don't think the dow is up this year. that's how little interest some have. we have to figure a way to get those people back in. new highs isn't doing it. historically new highs always got people more interested than media talked about it more and brought in people. this time it is different. >> we didn't have -- this time is different. i would argue it might be fear we have europe. >> uh-oh. >> i know. >> you are saying. >> it those words. we didn't have the europe overhang. we now have the fiscal cliff. people -- we had the flash crash. there have been a lot of extraneous events that are continuing at this point. it seems to be overshadowing the mark market's ability to outperform. >> i think it is the money. they just don't have the money to invest. think of what happened to the ball by boomers. you would, during dot-com crash, they were younger. they were more resilient and then they -- economies improve by wait, everyone was -- >> now one day older. just for the record. >> lot of real estate and more in the stock market. and they got burned up on both

fronts. now they are older and heading towards retirement. that is a big burn on both ends. >> last question, very quickly. this -- there are times when this market reminds me of the early '80s before the market took off. a lack of interest at that time. and economic conditions were horrible. and then the market took off. started cutting rates. >> valuations were attractive. and -- monetary authorities are -- accommodating and likely to be more accommodating. i think you are right. >> all right. thank you. we will see you later. thanks for joining us ever closer to the closing bell. and the dow jones industrials average is under a little pressure. down 36 points on the trading session. >> coming off the lows, again, all right, see this? we all remember that picture. it has been capsized for eight months now and not going anywhere for a long time. details on that coming up. >> you would like to repeal dodd/frank? it is amazing to me half of the rules in dodd/frank are still being read and it has been several years at this point.

>> right. yes, of course, i never voted for tonight the first place. i would like to repeal it. >> plus, paul ryan spoke to maria days before being named mitt romney's running mate. hear what he had to say offering from the fiscal cliff to that financial reform before he became a vp candidate. good afternoon. chase sapphire. (push button tone) this is stacy from springfield. oh whoa. hello? yes. i didn't realize i'd be talking to an actual person. you don't need to press "0," i'm here. reach a person, not a prompt whenever you call chase sapphire. get two times the points on dining in restaurants with chase sapphire preferred. to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha!

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the operator of the las vegas sands is reportedly under investigation by a nevada regulators and the feds. >> jackie deangelis has the details on the breaking news. she joins us with that. >> according to reports regulators are looking into whether las vegas sands broke u.s. bribery laws while doing business in china. this comes on the heels of reviews of the u.s. department of justice and the sec confirmed by the company in a march filing. las vegas sands stock is down today following reports that the chief beijing representative was hired to help open doors in china and "the new york times" says that $70 million at las vegas sands paid to companies

affiliated with the yang's several million $remain unaccounted for and u.s. officials would like to know if the missing money was used for bribes. these three probes may all stem from a lawsuit filed by former sands china ceo steve jacobs who sued the i company for breach of contract alleging he was fired for not complying with illegal demands by sheldon adelson. making at least $35 million in contributions to republican groups. tomorrow "the times" reports paul ryan, representative ryan, is to appear at a fund-raiser in las vegas saying adelson could attend underscoring his interest in washington/china relations. we reached out to las vegas sands for comments and we are waiting for response from them to see what they have to say about this. >> we hope they get back to you. thank you very much. as we mentioned earlier, consumers are really beginning to feel the pinch at the pump

again. gas prices surging and many point to the government, the corn prices have risen dramatically this year. >> ethanol actually has been coming down lately because of the increased speculation that they will drop the etc. follow mandate. it is an election year right now. as you know, i was just in the midwest. >> kansas. >> and in nebraska and in iowa. and for the most part, i did see the tremendous effects of the drought, lots of cornfields that were just left to go because of the lack of water at this point. and that can only cause prices to go higher. this is a lot like what i saw there not only for corn but soybeans as well. >> were there certain states -- i know you went to a number of states. certain states you thought were faring better or worse? >> iowa looked better. northern kansas looked horrible and in that region, they get a lot of the water from southern nebraska. but nebraska needs the water at this point as well.

it is first come, first serve. nebraska's corn looked a little better if i had to say. iowa looked very good. nebraska, so so. and northern can't is an -- >> did you get any rain when you were out there? >> not a drop. >> that's the problem, too. you know, the ground is so parched and it has been parched for so long even if they get a significant rain, just going to run right off. >> so the hope is -- i mean, two things here. going on in the farm belt. hoping they drop the mandate and -- on eth mol which earmark as certain amount of the corn harvest for ethanol production which increases the demand for that and price society high. they are also hoping congress can do something with the farm legislation which is still sitting on the table. even as they recess to go out to campaign. >> we will see. glad you are back. interesting -- >> nice to be back. had a good time. meanwhile, remember the "costa concordia"? the cruise ship that capsized off the coast of italy. plans to move that ship have been delayed. >> indeed they have. italian officials say the ship will be set upright and towed by the end of next spring.

just in time for tourist season. salvaging experts previously believed that the towing might be able to start early next year. 32 people died when that ship hit a reef and capsized in january. captain of that ship was charged with multiple counts of manslaughter and abandonment of ship. but that image this is so, so incredible is not going anywhere for a while. we will keep tabs on the story for you nonetheless. >> it is incredible. >> coming up next, coming right back with the closing countdown. >> after the bell, why somebody here says paul ryan's budget plan may help in the short term. but will drastically increase the dw the deficit in the long run.

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can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans? as we head towards the close here, you know, in the heartland last week. focus order the grains and everything. but this is what everybody has been talking about since i got back. price of energy which has been continuing to move higher. back above $90 a barrel. the price we pay based for our gasoline price pass, london, spread is just going sky high.

supply disruptions in the north sea and the fears about what the israel may do with iran. that's up to 113 in the last week, it is up 3.7% in that time. what's that done to gasoline? as we all know, up 2.5%. wouldn't it be nice if we paid that price in the futures? taxes and additives and much higher than it is right there. this is what i saw. as we saw earlier. with the grains and everything. corn prices continuing to move higher here. some of the crops are just lost. because of the drought conditions. so here we are at record prices up 36% in the last three months on the price of corporate. so beans looked a little better. i'm no farm expert but come from a family of farmers. up 13%. prices not going as high because of the crop may be a little -- in a little better shape. as important today, he is what the dow has done. down about 90 points at noontime. we have come back a little bit. and down 44 points right now and

the yield on the ten-year also picked up a little bit here. and we are at -- 1.66%. here is the thing that caught my attention, though. with all of the fears about energy polices and what it will do the economy and everything, look at the vix, below 14 now. which begs the question, peter costa, is this a come applausent market now, do you think? >> no. i think what we are in, market paralysis or beginning stages of market paralysis. there are reasons not to be in the market and reasons to be in the market. reasons to uninvest, reinvest. and everyone is just holding tight because they are paralyzed. they don't know what to do. >> energy, what impact -- i mean, there was a time back in the day when higher energy prices would be bad for stocks. but it has been the other way around lately. and energy prices have moved -- in tandem with stock prices. do you think that will con? >> good bit of the rally and energy came about when the ecb president p president made his comments about doing whatever it

takes to save the euro, including liquidity and so -- >> meaning morley quiddity? >> which drives all asset prices, including commodities higher. >> would you buy energy here? >> we are -- we are a growth fund. we do a lot of technology and specialty retail. >> okay. commodities, what would you do with commodities now? are they -- are they peaking at this point? could they get much worse? >> there's reasons why some commodities are way up like corn, for instance. that's a part of the example. but, you know, i'm not a commodities player. i have never been involved in it. i don't -- i don't know if -- if i really trust the commodity market as much as you trust the equity market. >> as we stand here, gentlemen, nasdaq turned positive for the day. there you go. thanks for joining us. we head towards the close. dow down 40 points. cutting their losses in half today. the nasdaq does finish positive for the day. that's the first hour of the closing bell. stay tuned. groupon's earnings coming up. we will show